An elixir is a magical or medicinal liquid believed to have powerful effects, like curing diseases, extending life, or solving difficult problems. In fantasy stories and ancient legends, wizards and alchemists searched for special elixirs that could grant immortality or turn lead into gold. The most famous was the elixir of life, which supposedly could make someone live forever.

In real medicine, doctors once used the word elixir for sweet-tasting liquid medicines, especially ones mixed with alcohol to dissolve the healing ingredients. Your parents might have given you a cherry-flavored cough elixir when you were younger, though today we usually just call these syrups or liquid medicines.

People also use elixir metaphorically to describe anything that seems like a perfect solution. Someone might joke that coffee is their elixir for waking up in the morning, or call a good night's sleep an elixir for a bad mood. Used this way, the word suggests something almost magical in its ability to fix a problem or make things better.