What is "thiazide"

n. Any of a class of diuretic drugs based on a ''benzothiadiazine sulfonamide dioxide''

n. any of a group of drugs commonly used as diuretics in the treatment of hypertension; they block the reabsorption of sodium in the kidneys

Thiazide is a type of molecule and a class of diuretics often used to treat hypertension (high blood pressure) and edema (such as that caused by heart, liver, or kidney disease).

The thiazides and thiazide-like diuretics reduce the risk of death, stroke, heart attack, and heart failure due to hypertension. The class was discovered and developed at Merck and Co. in the 1950s, and the first approved drug of this class, chlorothiazide, was marketed under the trade name Diuril beginning in 1958. In most countries, the thiazides are the cheapest antihypertensive drugs available.