atorvastatin

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UK/əˌtɔːvəˈstætɪn/US/əˈtɔːɹvəˌstætɪn/US/əˌtɔːɹvəˈstætɪn/

noun

A statin used to lower the level of cholesterol in the blood. Trade names include Lipitor among others.

Similar
Less commonScrabble 15

Meanings

nounatorvastatin (usually uncountable, plural atorvastatins)

plural atorvastatins

  1. uncountableusuallymedicineA statin used to lower the level of cholesterol in the blood. Trade names include Lipitor among others.

    The researchers found that statins were likely to provide benefits at a substantially higher health risk than expected and that those risk levels were lower for atorvastatin and rosuvastatin than for simvastatin and pravastatin.

    2018 December 3, Jacqueline Howard, “Are statins overprescribed? Why the risks and benefits are so complex”, in CNN
    1 more example

    Among statins, only simvastatin (up to 7.5 ng/L) and pravastatin (up to 40.4 ng/L) were identified in the raw water being these concentrations substantially higher than those found in the literature, 1 ng/L for pravastatin (Miao and Metcalfe, 2003) and 1.4 ng/L for atorvastatin and 1.0 ng/L for its metabolites o- and p-hydroxy atorvastatin in surface waters (Benotti et al., 2009). […] The last compound, gemfibrozil is the sole antilipidemic compound found (up to 3 ng/L) in a USA survey of 18 DWTPs whereas atorvastatin, simvastatin and their metabolites, the other studied compounds, were absent (Benotti et al., 2009). In our study, the two statins identified at the intake of the DWTP were eliminated by dioxychlorination (>99%) whereas bezafibrate, clofibric acid and gemfibrozil were only moderately removed with percentages of 37%, 68% and 11%, respectively although it has been reported that gemfibrozil and clofibric acid are readily oxidized with chlorine dioxide in spiked drinking water whereas bezafibrate remains unchanged (Huber et al., 2005a).

    2011 June 28, Ma Rosa Boleda, Ma Teresa Galceran, Francesc Ventura, “Behavior of pharmaceuticals and drugs of abuse in a drinking water treatment plant (DWTP) using combined conventional and ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis (UF/RO) treatments”, in Environmental Pollution, volume 159, number 6, →DOI, pages 1584-1591

Synonyms & antonyms

nounan oral drug (trade name Lipitor) that is effective in lowering triglycerides; potent in reducing LDL cholesterol because higher doses can be given

Similar
Broader
lipid-lowering medicinelipid-lowering medicationstatin drug
Also see

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Spanishatorar“to clog”
  2. Englishatorvastatin

From ator- + -vastatin (“HMG CoA reductase inhibitor”). The prefix probably from Spanish atorar (“to clog”), wherein the verb suffix -ar was taken off. Thus, the role is "to inhibit the clogging (of cholesterol)".

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

atorvastatin. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/atorvastatin

MLA

“atorvastatin.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/atorvastatin. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “atorvastatin,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/atorvastatin.

Source: atorvastatin on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.