street drug
4
7.4
- noun
- /strit drʌg/
- NSFW
:
droga callejera
- The growing presence of street drugs in urban areas poses significant challenges to public health.
- a street drug user
- use street drugs
So the MDMA is, you know, the street drug ecstasy.
- So the MDMA is, you know, the street drug ecstasy.
- And also, dude, you know, no one told me like I'd never done a street drug in my life.
Examples
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Yeah, PTSD, come back from wars, No help from the government, just used and abused, get on street drugs to self medicate and end up in prison.
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In research with impoverished Hispanic street drug users, special attention must be paid to concerns that information regarding their HIV or drug use status might inadvertently reach family members.
Academic text (2008) -
What street drugs are you on, sir?
-
As a result, many of the usual street drugs are simply not available.
Academic text (2009) -
Do you use alcohol or street drugs?
Academic text (2002) -
The new highly-addictive street drug is called Psyke.
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These murders are the latest episode in what has been dubbed a gang war over Los Angeles' illegal street-drug trade.
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Many of the street drugs are laced with fentanyl, adding to the rising overdose rate.
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Some of the youths in this neighborhood are now selling ecstasy along with other street drugs and going to raves and dance clubs to sell as well.
Academic text (2004) -
The list of drugs to be tested included "street drugs," performance-enhancing steroids, and other banned substances (Monaghan 1986).
Academic text (1990)
Synonyms
1
5.8
A drug taken for pleasure that changes how you think and can cause addiction or harm
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense 'an illegal or recreational drug associated with the street' is directly inferable from combining 'street' (indicating an outdoor/illicit urban context) with 'drug' (a mind-altering substance). This noun–noun compositional pattern is common and has clear parallels in other languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will most likely grasp the meaning.
Etymology
Street drug may come from the simple image of a drug being sold on a street corner instead of in a shop or pharmacy. Because these drugs were 'sold on the street' and not for health care, the phrase now means an 'illegal' drug taken for 'fun' rather than as medicine.