Meanings
- uncountableThe racemic mixture of amphetamine (dl-amphetamine).
[…]who chained themselves to subways for the endless ride from Battery to holy Bronx on benzedrine until the noise of wheels and children brought them down[…]
1956, Allen Ginsberg, “Howl”, in Howl and Other Poems (Pocket Poets Series), City Lights Books, →OCLC, page 102 more examples
There was even a box of benzedrine tablets to give endurance and heightened perception during the operation and an assortment of underwater torches, including one that threw only a tiny pencil-thin beam.
1954, Ian Fleming, “Beau Desert”, in Live and Let Die, London: Pan Books, published 1957, page 195Then I would be way ahead when college started at the end of September, and able to enjoy my last year instead of swotting away with no make-up and stringy hair, on a diet of coffee and benzedrine, the way most of the seniors taking honours did, until they finished their thesis.
1963, Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar, Faber and Faber, page 118
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From the trade name for the first pharmaceutical (racemic) amphetamine (1932), derived from benzyl-methyl carbinamine.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
benzedrine. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/benzedrine
“benzedrine.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/benzedrine. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “benzedrine,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/benzedrine.
Source: benzedrine on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.