“Spongiform”

The following 3 entries include the term Spongiform.

bovine spongiform encephalopathy

noun

: a fatal prion disease of cattle that affects the nervous system, resembles or is identical to scrapie of sheep and goats, and is probably transmitted by infected tissue in food —abbreviation BSE

See the full definition

spongiform encephalopathy

noun

: any of various degenerative diseases of the brain characterized by the development of porous spongelike lesions in brain tissue and by deterioration in neurological functioning

See the full definition

transmissible spongiform encephalopathy

noun

: prion disease —abbreviation TSE

See the full definition

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of agrarian

See Definitions and Examples »

Test Your Vocabulary

Name That Flower

  • any of a genus helianthus especially h annuus of new world composite plants with large yellow rayed flower heads bearing edible seeds that yield an edible oil
How Strong Is Your Vocabulary?

Test your vocabulary with our 10-question quiz!

TAKE THE QUIZ
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.

You can make only 12 words. Pick the best ones!

PLAY
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game You can make only 12 words. Pick the best ones!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A crossword with a twist
winning words from the national spelling bee logo
Spelling Bee Quiz Can you outdo past winners of the National Spelli...