Meanings
- slanguncountableA recreational drug based on cough syrup, popular in the hip-hop community in the southern United States.
The infamous purple drank made me dizzy and sick, but I loved its aftertaste.
2007, Kenny Attaway, Slum Beautiful, page 401 more example
Instead of listening to the message, people find it easier to blame the messenger. Hip-hop may have promoted purple drank, but it did not create it. OxyContin abuse became a national emergency without a backing soundtrack.
2011, Kenaz Filan, The Power of the Poppy: Harnessing Nature's Most Dangerous Plant Ally, page 211
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA recreational drug based on cough syrup, popular in the hip-hop community in the southern United States.
Origin
From purple + drank (“drink”).
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
purple drank. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/purple%20drank
“purple drank.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/purple%20drank. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “purple drank,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/purple%20drank.
Source: purple drank on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.