Definition of "laxative" []

• A food or drug that stimulates evacuation of the bowels. (noun)
• Stimulating evacuation of the bowels. (adjective)
• Causing looseness or relaxation, especially of the bowels. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "A sherbet of the pods, being slightly laxative, is much drunk during the great heats; and the dried fruit, made into small round cakes, is sold in the bazars."
• "“The laxative was the lesser of the two evils, especially if your folks had found out.”"
• "The liberal use of these cooked vegetables has a tendency to prevent constipation, and some of them are called laxative foods, such as stewed onions and spinach."