[Vocabulary] Chemist's/pharmacy/drug store

[englishhobby]

Do they write "chemist's" nowadays on the stores selling medicine? Is the word "chemist's" dated or widely used? Is "pharmacy" an American word for "chemist's"? Which of them is purely British and which is American?

 

[bhaisahab]

Both are used in the UK;

 

[englishhobby]

Both are used in the UK;

And is the "drug store" used as well?

 

[SoothingDave]

We don't have "Chemist's" in America. We do have pharmacies or drug stores. The former is the more formal word and how you normally see the stores refer to themselves.

A pharmacist dispenses prescription medicine under a doctor's orders. The pharmacy area of a store, or a stand alone "drug store" would also sell over-the-counter remedies.

 

[tedmc]

In many Asian countries, doctors assumes the function of both the prescription and dispensing of medicine, for convenience and cost. Pharmacies mostly sell over-the-counter medicine, certain controlled drugs and food supplements.

 

[Barb_D]

Stores like CVS, Rite Aid or Walgreens are commonly called "drug stores" in the US. They have a pharmacy where the prescription medicine is dispensed, but you can also get anything from makeup to sunglasses to candy to stuffed toys, and even some types of groceries. You might say "What time does the pharmacy close at your local drug store?" because the part where you can get medication may have different hours than the part where you can get potato chips, gum and mascara.

 

[Mrfatso]

And is the "drug store" used as well?

Not A Teacher

No we do not normally use "drug store" in the UK.

 

[Tdol]

Stores like CVS, Rite Aid or Walgreens are commonly called "drug stores" in the US. They have a pharmacy where the prescription medicine is dispensed, but you can also get anything from makeup to sunglasses to candy to stuffed toys, and even some types of groceries. You might say "What time does the pharmacy close at your local drug store?" because the part where you can get medication may have different hours than the part where you can get potato chips, gum and mascara.

In the UK, Boot's, the major chain of chemists, has increased it range of products way beyond medicines. It's more like a drug store now, though we don't use the term.