over-the-counter

• over the counter

Attributive form of over the counter.

over-the-counter (not comparable)

1. (pharmacology, of medicine and other treatments) Legal for sale or distribution without the requirement of a prescription.

   Synonym: OTC

   over-the-counter drug, over-the-counter medicine

2. (finance) Involving direct interaction between two parties without an intermediary. Thus, denotes any market where items such as stocks or currency are bought and sold by direct arrangement between counterparties, or through a private broker, rather than on a public stock exchange or other exchange.

   Synonym: OTC

   over-the-counter trade, over-the-counter market

   • 1908, The Standard, volume 62, page 553:

     This is "commencement week" in "over-the-counter insurance" circles, the Whitman, Mass., savings bank having opened the ball with four applications made for $300 each by three prominent business men […]