HEROIN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does heroin mean? 

• HEROIN (noun)
  The noun HEROIN has 1 sense:

1. a narcotic that is considered a hard drug; a highly addictive morphine derivative; intravenous injection provides the fastest and most intense rush

  Familiarity information: HEROIN used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• HEROIN (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A narcotic that is considered a hard drug; a highly addictive morphine derivative; intravenous injection provides the fastest and most intense rush

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

diacetylmorphine; heroin

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

hard drug (a narcotic that is considered relatively strong and likely to cause addiction)

opiate (a narcotic drug that contains opium or an opium derivative)

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

big H; hell dust; nose drops; scag; skag; smack; thunder (street names for heroin)

 Context examples 

At higher doses over time, the body becomes dependent on heroin.

(Heroin, NIH: National Institute on Drug Abuse)

It is more common in heroin users.

(Botulism, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Strong dependence, both physiological and emotional, upon heroin.

(Heroin Dependence, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

It is a narcotic antagonist that is effective orally, longer lasting and more potent than naloxone, and has been proposed for the treatment of heroin addiction.

(Naltrexone hydrochloride, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

Heroin is very addictive and it is illegal to use or sell it in the United States.

(Diacetylmorphine, NCI Dictionary)

Opiates include natural ingredients of the poppy and their derivatives - opium, morphine, codeine, and heroin.

(Opiate, NCI Thesaurus)

Examples of opiates are codeine, heroin, and morphine.

(Opiate, NCI Dictionary)

It is also used to help people who are addicted to opioid drugs such as heroin.

(Methadone hydrochloride, NCI Dictionary)

Other controlled substances, such as heroin and LSD, have no known medical use and are illegal in the United States.

(Controlled substance, NCI Dictionary)

Because of the prolonged half-life of methadone compared to other morphine-like agents such as heroin, the onset of opiate withdrawal symptoms is slower, the duration of opiate withdrawal is prolonged, and opiate withdrawal symptoms are less severe.

(Methadone hydrochloride, NCI Thesaurus)