Meaning & use
non-Rx
Last updated
Meaning
adjectivebefore a nouninformalmedical
Not requiring a doctor's prescription; able to be bought without one.
Grammar: Comes before a noun: 'non-Rx medicine', 'non-Rx products'. It is not used after a verb.
Patterns
- non-Rx medicine
- non-Rx drugs
- non-Rx products
You can buy non-Rx painkillers at any supermarket.
The doctor said it was a non-Rx treatment, so no prescription was needed.
Non-Rx eye drops are usually safe for mild allergies.
Common combinations
- non-Rx medicine
- Non-Rx medicine is kept on the open shelves.
- non-Rx drugs
- Some non-Rx drugs can still cause side effects.
- non-Rx product
- This non-Rx product is for external use only.
- available non-Rx
- The cream is available non-Rx in most pharmacies.
Synonyms and how they differ
- over-the-counter
- The standard, formal term; 'non-Rx' is shorter and more informal.
- non-prescription
- More formal and neutral; often used in medical writing.
Opposites
Word family
- Rx abbreviation
- A written order from a doctor for medicine.
Commonly confused: non-Rx or OTC?
non-Rx vs OTC
OTC stands for over-the-counter and means the same as non-Rx, but it is more common in pharmacy labels.
Practice
What does 'non-Rx' mean?
Choose one answer.
'Non-Rx' means not requiring a prescription. Option A describes prescription medicine, and C is wrong because non-Rx items can still be approved.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “non-Rx”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.