methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

noun

: MRSA

The germ is methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. People can carry it on their skin or in their noses with no symptoms and still infect others—the reason many hospitals isolate and test new patients to see if they harbor the bug.

—Marilynn Marcione, The Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican, 28 Oct. 2008

Word History

First Known Use

1966, in the meaning defined above

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Rhymes for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

• calcareous
• noncalcareous