listeriosis

noun

lis·​te·​ri·​o·​sis li-ˌstir-ē-ˈō-səs 

plural listerioses li-ˌstir-ē-ˈō-ˌsēz 

: a serious encephalitic disease of a wide variety of animals that is caused by a bacterium (Listeria monocytogenes) and that in animals is often fatal but in humans is usually not fatal

Examples of listeriosis in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Invasive listeriosis is a potentially life-threatening event, especially for newborns, adults over the age of 65, and those with weakened immune systems. —Matthew Robinson, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025

Symptoms of listeriosis include fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, loss of balance and convulsions. —Michelle Del Rey, USA Today, 20 Oct. 2025

Pregnant women, people over 65 and people with weakened immune systems are at higher risk of invasive listeriosis. —Kaan Ozcan, NBC news, 8 Oct. 2025

The 15-state outbreak has sickened at least 20, killing four, since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the FDA began investigating cases of listeria poisoning, or listeriosis, in September. —Marina Johnson, Louisville Courier Journal, 7 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Listeria, from Joseph Lister

First Known Use

1941, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for listeriosis

• amyloidosis
• anaplasmosis
• anastomosis
• aponeurosis
• apotheosis
• aspergillosis
• blastomycosis
• coccidiosis
• cryptococcosis
• cysticercosis
• endocytosis
• exocytosis

Medical Definition

listeriosis

noun

lis·​te·​ri·​o·​sis (ˌ)lis-ˌtir-ē-ˈō-səs 

variants also listerellosis

ˌlis-tə-rə-ˈlō-səs 

plural listerioses also listerelloses -ˌsēz 

: a serious disease of animals and humans that is caused by a bacterium of the genus Listeria (L. monocytogenes), that in animals causes severe encephalitis accompanied by disordered movements and is often fatal, that is contracted by humans especially from contaminated food (as processed meats or unpasteurized milk or cheese), that in otherwise healthy people typically takes the form of a mild flu-like illness or has no noticeable symptoms, that in neonates, the elderly, and the immunocompromised often causes serious sometimes fatal illness with symptoms including meningitis and sepsis, and that in pregnant women usually causes only mild illness in the mother but often results in miscarriage, stillbirth, or premature birth see circling disease