Psilocybin
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A hallucinogenic alkaloid, C₁₂H₁₅N₂O·H₂PO₃, present in several species of Central American mushroom and producing effects similar to LSD. The prodrug of psilocin. countable, uncountable
"The problem of the mushroom supply was solved straight away when Leary learned from a graduate student named George Litwin that a chemist at the Sandoz Corporation, Dr. Albert Hofmann, had recently synthesized the psychoactive molecule of the mushroom, calling it psilocybin."
- 2 a hallucinogenic compound obtained from a mushroom wordnet
Example
More examples"The problem of the mushroom supply was solved straight away when Leary learned from a graduate student named George Litwin that a chemist at the Sandoz Corporation, Dr. Albert Hofmann, had recently synthesized the psychoactive molecule of the mushroom, calling it psilocybin."
Etymology
Borrowed from German Psilocybin (coined by Albert Hofmann), from translingual Psilocybe (“genus of mushroom”) + -in.
Related phrases
More for "psilocybin"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.