anthrax

an·thrax

noun \ˈan-ˌthraks\

plural an·thra·ces \-thrə-ˌsēz\

Definition of ANTHRAX

: an infectious disease of warm-blooded animals (as cattle and sheep) caused by a spore-forming bacterium (Bacillus anthracis), transmissible to humans especially by the handling of infected products (as hair), and characterized by external ulcerating nodules or by lesions in the lungs