POISON

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does poison mean? 

• POISON (noun)
  The noun POISON has 2 senses:

1. any substance that causes injury or illness or death of a living organism

2. anything that harms or destroys

  Familiarity information: POISON used as a noun is rare.

• POISON (verb)
  The verb POISON has 5 senses:

1. spoil as if by poison

2. kill with poison

3. add poison to

4. kill by its poison

5. administer poison to

  Familiarity information: POISON used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• POISON (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any substance that causes injury or illness or death of a living organism

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Synonyms:

poison; poisonous substance; toxicant

Hypernyms ("poison" is a kind of...):

substance (a particular kind or species of matter with uniform properties)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "poison"):

atropine (a poisonous crystalline alkaloid extracted from the nightshade family; used as an antispasmodic and to dilate the eye pupil; also administered in large amounts as an antidote for organophosphate nerve agents or organophosphate insecticides)

hyoscyamine (a poisonous crystalline alkaloid (isometric with atropine but more potent); used to treat excess motility of the gastrointestinal tract)

toxin (a poisonous substance produced during the metabolism and growth of certain microorganisms and some higher plant and animal species)

Derivation:

poison (add poison to)

poison (kill with poison)

poison (kill by its poison)

poisonous (not safe to eat)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Anything that harms or destroys

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Context example:

the poison of fascism

Hypernyms ("poison" is a kind of...):

destructiveness (the quality of causing destruction)

Derivation:

poison (spoil as if by poison)

poisonous (marked by deep ill will; deliberately harmful)

poisonous (having the qualities or effects of a poison)

• POISON (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they poison    ... he / she / it poisons   
Past simple: poisoned   
Past participle: poisoned   
-ing form: poisoning   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Spoil as if by poison

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Context example:

poison the atmosphere in the office

Hypernyms (to "poison" is one way to...):

corrupt; debase; debauch; demoralise; demoralize; deprave; misdirect; pervert; profane; subvert; vitiate (corrupt morally or by intemperance or sensuality)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s somebody

Derivation:

poison (anything that harms or destroys)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Kill with poison

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

She poisoned her husband

Hypernyms (to "poison" is one way to...):

kill (cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly)

Verb group:

poison (kill by its poison)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence example:

They want to poison the prisoners

Derivation:

poison (any substance that causes injury or illness or death of a living organism)

poisoner (someone who kills with poison)

poisoning (the act of giving poison to a person or animal with the intent to kill)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Add poison to

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

envenom; poison

Context example:

Her husband poisoned her drink in order to kill her

Hypernyms (to "poison" is one way to...):

alter; change; modify (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

poison (any substance that causes injury or illness or death of a living organism)

poisoning (the act of giving poison to a person or animal with the intent to kill)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Kill by its poison

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

This mushrooms can poison

Hypernyms (to "poison" is one way to...):

kill (cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly)

Verb group:

poison (administer poison to)

poison (kill with poison)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s somebody

Derivation:

poison (any substance that causes injury or illness or death of a living organism)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Administer poison to

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Context example:

She poisoned her husband but he did not die

Hypernyms (to "poison" is one way to...):

dose; drug (administer a drug to)

Verb group:

poison (kill by its poison)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "poison"):

intoxicate (have an intoxicating effect on, of a drug)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Derivation:

poisoning (the act of giving poison to a person or animal with the intent to kill)

 Context examples 

You can be poisoned by breathing them in.

(Carbon Monoxide Poisoning, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Also called acute radiation sickness, radiation poisoning, radiation sickness, and radiation sickness syndrome.

(Acute radiation syndrome, NCI Dictionary)

Chloroquinoxaline sulfonamide poisons topoisomerase II alpha and topoisomerase II beta, thereby causing double-stranded breaks in DNA, accumulation of unrepaired DNA, and apoptosis.

(Chloroquinoxaline sulfonamide, NCI Thesaurus)

Also called acute radiation syndrome, radiation poisoning, radiation sickness, and radiation sickness syndrome.

(Acute radiation sickness, NCI Dictionary)

Yet previous studies of chemotaxis — the way bacteria move toward a higher concentration of food or away from concentrations of poisons — usually have been done in unobstructed chambers.

(Bacteria change behavior to tackle tiny obstacle course, National Science Foundation)

With a rush we got to the poisoned men and dragged them out into the well-lit hall.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

If you got it, it would be poison to you.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

So she went by herself into her chamber, and got ready a poisoned apple: the outside looked very rosy and tempting, but whoever tasted it was sure to die.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

Dinitrophenol was once used as diet remedy to lose weight without exercise or diet, but this compound is a metabolic poison and resulted in deaths in when purposefully given to humans.

(Electron Transport Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

This agent is a mutagen and mitotic poison, thereby inhibits cell growth.

(Gentian Violet, NCI Thesaurus)