ENGLISH
REFERENCE

cocaine

v.
US //koʊˈkeɪn// UK //kəʊkˈeɪn// co·caine
  1. 1 to treat with cocaine (v.)
    C2 Proficiency Archaic Technical Medicine

    to give someone cocaine or treat a part of the body with it.

    to anaesthetize or treat a surface with cocaine. Transitive; less common than the noun form.

    Example

    The doctor had to cocaine the area before the small operation.

    Example

    In early twentieth-century surgical manuals, practitioners were often instructed to cocaine the mucous membranes to ensure patient comfort during the procedure.
    • cocainize
Origin

From coca + -ine, from Quechua kuka. First use appears c. 1874.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Last updated June 20, 2026