performance-enhancing drug

noun

: a substance (such as an anabolic steroid, human growth hormone, or erythropoietin) that is used illicitly to improve athletic performance
In the United States, more than 1 million elite and recreational athletes use performance-enhancing drugs for muscle building purposes.Josiah D. Rich et al.
…33 of the 48 major and minor league players suspended by baseball for using performance-enhancing drugs since the start of 2006 were pitchers.Sean Gregory
Roger Bannister, the first person to run a subpar four-minute mile, said today he thought that increased use of blood testing could help curb the use of performance-enhancing drugs by track and field athletes.The New York Times
abbreviation PED

Examples of performance-enhancing drug in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Robinson Cano, who later twice tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs, was their best player statistically with a .314 average, 27 homers and 107 RBIs in 160 games. Larry Fleisher, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2025 Braun also has the black mark of violating MLB’s performance-enhancing drugs policy. C. Trent Rosecrans, The Athletic, 21 Jan. 2025 Sosa said that the apology in his statement from December was not about using performance-enhancing drugs. Ryan Canfield, Fox News, 18 Jan. 2025 He was suspended for four games for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy. Jackson Thompson, Fox News, 4 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for performance-enhancing drug 

Word History

First Known Use

1973, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of performance-enhancing drug was in 1973

Dictionary Entries Near performance-enhancing drug

Cite this Entry

“Performance-enhancing drug.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/performance-enhancing%20drug. Accessed 2 Feb. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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