microdose

English

Alternative forms

micro-dose

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *mey-der.?

Ancient Greek μῑκρός (mīkrós)

Ancient Greek μῑκρο- (mīkro-)lbor.

English micro-

Proto-Indo-European *deh₃-

Proto-Indo-European *-tós

Proto-Indo-European *-is

Proto-Indo-European *-tis

Proto-Indo-European *déh₃tis

Proto-Hellenic *dótis

Ancient Greek δόσις (dósis)bor.

Late Latin dosis

Middle French dosebor.

English dose

English microdose

From micro- + dose.

Pronunciation

(US) IPA^(key): /ˈmaɪkɹoʊˌdoʊs/

Noun

microdose (plural microdoses)

A very low dose of a substance.
Antonym: macrodose
- 2022 February 28, Dana G. Smith, “More People Are Microdosing for Mental Health. But Does It Work?”, in The New York Times‎^[1], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 12 March 2022:
  So many of the scientists who pioneered research into full doses of psychedelics have started studying whether a microdose might also be beneficial. […] Lab studies of psilocybin and LSD microdoses tend to support these claims, showing improvements in mood, attention and creativity.

Translations

very low dose

Dutch: microdosis
Finnish: mikroannos
French: microdose f
Italian: microdose f
Polish: mikrodawka f
Portuguese: microdose f
Romanian: microdoză f
Spanish: microdosis f

Verb

microdose (third-person singular simple present microdoses, present participle microdosing, simple past and past participle microdosed)

(transitive) To administer a very low dose to.
(transitive) To prepare (medicines, etc.) at very low dosages.
(intransitive, transitive) To recreationally take small amounts of psychedelic drugs in the belief that it will aid productivity.
microdose on LSD
- 2011, James Fadiman, The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide‎^[2], Simon and Schuster, →ISBN:
  What I feel that micro-dosing does is to slightly rearrange my neural furniture so that glimmers of full-on psychedelic states are constantly pouring into my awareness.
- 2017, Ayelet Waldman, A Really Good Day‎^[3], Knopf Doubleday, →ISBN, book subtitle:
  How Microdosing Made a Mega Difference in My Mood, My Marriage, and My Life
- 2019 August 5, Arwa Mahdawi, “Self-hypnosis, amphetamines? I tried eight hacks in my quest to be more productive”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎^[4], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 30 August 2019:
  It’s used to treat people who have ADD but is also abused by huge amounts of people who don’t have ADD and just want to focus. I tried microdosing it this week to see if it would help kick my brain into gear.
- 2022 February 28, Dana G. Smith, “More People Are Microdosing for Mental Health. But Does It Work?”, in The New York Times‎^[5], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 12 March 2022:
  Microdosing is typically defined by experts as taking 5 percent to 10 percent of a full dose of a psychedelic, usually LSD or psilocybin, as a way to get the supposed mental health benefits of the drug without the hallucinogenic high. […] “It’s akin to walking outside and the sun is suddenly out,” said Erin Royal, 30, a bartender in Seattle who microdoses one or two times a week with mushrooms she forages from nearby forests. […] In practice, only about a third of people who microdose carefully measure the amount of the psychedelic they are taking; most take just enough to begin feeling some effects, which usually start after an hour and last four to six hours.
- 2022, “Estaciones”, performed by Action Bronson ft. Hologram:
  You microdose while you wifing hoes / I macrodose while I'm mackin' hoes
- 2025 August 20, “Sickofancy”, in South Park, season 27, episode 3, spoken by Randy Marsh:
  And just like any other tech company, we're expanding our minds by microdosing ketamine.