nootropic
noun
no·o·tro·pic ˌnō-ə-ˈtrō-pik 
: a substance that enhances cognition and memory and facilitates learning
nootropic adjective
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web New York City’s newest ultra-hip acupuncture startup WTHN is selling a nootropic. 
Kaitlyn Tiffany, Vox, 8 July 2019 Cognition-enhancing supplements, aka nootropics—which logged sales upward of $640 million in 2015 alone—are no different. Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 26 Nov. 2019 See, for instance, Jack Dorsey’s regimen of weekend fasts or Elon Musk’s use of nootropics. Barrett Swanson, Harper's magazine, 28 Oct. 2019 The medical community is skeptical of nootropics, and discourages their use. Richard Cooke, The New Republic, 3 Sep. 2019 Today’s conservative boosters of nootropics promise similar access to rational clarity and unitary purpose. Richard Cooke, The New Republic, 3 Sep. 2019 This year, nootropics have gone thoroughly mainstream by intersecting with other powerful consumer trends. Kaitlyn Tiffany, Vox, 8 July 2019 Though its name suggests a nootropics concern or a purveyor of networked exercise equipment, Superhuman’s unbodied offering is productivity software for the inbox. Anna Wiener, The New Yorker, 17 July 2019 Awakened Futures encouraged that attitude by handing out nootropics to every entrant. Emma Grey Ellis, WIRED, 8 June 2019 See More
Kaitlyn Tiffany, Vox, 8 July 2019 Cognition-enhancing supplements, aka nootropics—which logged sales upward of $640 million in 2015 alone—are no different. Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 26 Nov. 2019 See, for instance, Jack Dorsey’s regimen of weekend fasts or Elon Musk’s use of nootropics. Barrett Swanson, Harper's magazine, 28 Oct. 2019 The medical community is skeptical of nootropics, and discourages their use. Richard Cooke, The New Republic, 3 Sep. 2019 Today’s conservative boosters of nootropics promise similar access to rational clarity and unitary purpose. Richard Cooke, The New Republic, 3 Sep. 2019 This year, nootropics have gone thoroughly mainstream by intersecting with other powerful consumer trends. Kaitlyn Tiffany, Vox, 8 July 2019 Though its name suggests a nootropics concern or a purveyor of networked exercise equipment, Superhuman’s unbodied offering is productivity software for the inbox. Anna Wiener, The New Yorker, 17 July 2019 Awakened Futures encouraged that attitude by handing out nootropics to every entrant. Emma Grey Ellis, WIRED, 8 June 2019 See More Word History
Etymology
French nootrope "nootropic drug" (from Greek noo-, combining form of nóos, contracted noûs "mind, intellect"—of uncertain origin—+ French -trope "changing in the way specified," borrowed from Greek -tropos -tropous) + -ic entry 1
First Known Use
1976, in the meaning defined above
Medical Definition
nootropic 1 of 2
adjective
no·o·tro·pic ˌnō-ə-ˈtrō-pik, -ˈträp-ik
: of, relating to, or promoting the enhancement of cognition and memory and the facilitation of learning
nootropic drugs
nootropic
2 of 2noun
: a nootropic substance and especially a drug
called also smart drug