cephalosporin

noun ceph·a·lo·spo·rin \ ˌse-fə-lə-ˈspȯr-ən \

|Updated on: 5 Jul 2018

Definition of cephalosporin

: any of several antibiotics produced by an imperfect fungus (genus Acremonium synonym Cephalosporium)

Recent Examples of cephalosporin from the Web

Most of these are cephalosporins, a class of broad-spectrum antibiotics that are used to treat a variety of infections.

— richard klasco, New York Times, "Can I Drink Alcohol While Taking Antibiotics?," 15 June 2018
In some cases, the results and your personal sensitivities to certain antibiotics like penicillin or cephalosporin may indicate that nitrofurantoin or trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole are the best way to go.

— korin miller, SELF, "Here’s What You Need to Know About Treating a UTI While Pregnant," 18 Jan. 2018
The bacteria produce an enzyme called Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase that makes a range of antibiotics ineffective, including beta-lactams, penicillins, and cephalosporins.

— NBC News, "What Is CRE and Why Do People Catch it?," 6 Feb. 2018
Penicillins, erythromycin, and cephalosporins may be better options.

— korin miller, SELF, "Here’s What You Need to Know About Treating a UTI While Pregnant," 18 Jan. 2018
Some strains have built up resistance to all but one treatment: an injection of an extended-spectrum cephalosporin paired with an oral form of azithromycin.

— aneri pattani, New York Times, "A Dangerous, ‘Silent Reservoir’ for Gonorrhea: The Throat," 31 July 2017
For instance, key takeaways include: 66 percent of reporting countries saw at least one case of gonorrhea with some level of resistance to cephalosporin antibiotics in that time frame.

— beth mole, Ars Technica, "Incurable gonorrhea is lurking—and we may not see it coming, WHO warns," 9 July 2017
The researchers did find some good news: Various forms of penicillin, the most commonly used antibiotic during pregnancy, and cephalosporins such as Cephalexin were not shown to increase the chances of early pregnancy termination.

— paul sisson, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Some antibiotics significantly increase risk of miscarriages, big study finds," 2 May 2017
The emergence of gonococcal cephalosporin resistance would substantially limit available treatment options.

— maryn mckenna, WIRED, "The Clap Came Back: Multidrug-Resistant Gonorrhea," 11 July 2011

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cephalosporin.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.