poison

/ˈpɔɪzən/

noun

  1. A substance that can cause serious harm or death if swallowed, breathed in, or touched.

    B1

    countable and uncountable

    • "The dog died after eating rat poison."B1
    • "Some mushrooms contain a deadly poison."B2

  2. Something that has a very harmful or destructive effect on a person, group, or situation.

    C1

    countable and uncountablefigurative

    • "Gossip is a poison that destroys trust."C1
    • "The media's constant negativity is a poison to society."C2

verb

  1. To kill or harm someone or something by giving them poison.

    B1

    transitive

    • "The villain tried to poison the king."B1
    • "The water was poisoned by toxic waste."B2

  2. To make something such as a relationship or situation unpleasant and cause it to fail.

    C1

    transitivefigurative

    • "Their rivalry poisoned the atmosphere in the office."C1
    • "Constant criticism poisoned their friendship."C2

Common mistakes

  • The snake is poison.→The snake is poisonous.

    'Poison' is a noun; use 'poisonous' to describe something that contains or produces poison. For animals like snakes, 'venomous' is more precise if they inject poison by biting.

Collocations

rat poisonpoison gaspoison ivyfood poisoning

Word family

poisonouspoisonerpoisoning