# prescribe vs prescribed

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### prescribe
*verb · IPA /pɹɪˈskɹaɪb/ · frequency rank #17,449*
To order (a drug or medical device) for use by a particular patient (under licensed authority).

### prescribed
*verb · IPA /pɹəˈskɹaɪbd/ · frequency rank #8,187*
simple past and past participle of prescribe

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/prescribe-vs-prescribed