penicillin
noun
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Definition of penicillin
1 : any of several relatively nontoxic antibiotic acids of the general formula C9H11N2O4SR that are produced by molds (genus Penicillium and especially P. notatum or P. chrysogenum) or synthetically and are used especially against gram-positive cocci also : a mixture of such acids
2 : a salt or ester of a penicillin or a mixture of such salts or esters
Examples of penicillin in a Sentence
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That's one of the reasons scarlet fever was a leading cause of heart disease for adults before penicillin was discovered. — Meera Senthilingam And Sandee Lamotte, CNN, "Health agency warns UK parents as scarlet fever cases soar," 27 Mar. 2018 At the time, Harris likened the proliferation of medical pot to telling patients to chew on mold instead of taking penicillin. — Jenna Portnoy, Washington Post, "D.C.’s biggest pot proselytizer moves to Maryland to take on his nemesis, Rep. Andy Harris," 10 Apr. 2018 Although penicillin could be manufactured fairly easily in the laboratories at the university, many other drugs were not so simple, even with talent and ingenuity. — Nan Randall, The Atlantic, "'Charlottesville': A Government-Commissioned Story About Nuclear War," 25 Jan. 2018 But the strain identified at the Orange County facility is more of a superbug, which produces enzymes that can break down a range of antibiotics in the penicillin family. — Naseem S. Miller, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Penicillin-resistant superbug found in Orange County facility, CDC report says," 5 June 2018 Blockbusters including penicillin and statins, which lower cholesterol, came from fungi. — Peter Andrey Smith, Bloomberg.com, "This Fungus Could Help Cure Cancer," 4 June 2018 Fungi are the basis for many drugs, including the antibiotic penicillin, the immunosuppressant cyclosporine and the cholesterol buster lovastatin, so Blanchette wondered if these Antarctic species might produce any useful molecules. — Peter Andrey Smith, Scientific American, "Microbes Living in Antarctic Huts Produce Novel Chemical Compounds," 1 June 2018 The tentacles of the program also wound around the infamous Tuskegee syphilis study, in which black men with the disease remained untreated even after the discovery of life-saving penicillin so scientists could track the course of the illness. — Julia M. Klein, BostonGlobe.com, "When America imprisoned ‘promiscuous’ women," 23 May 2018 They were not offered treatment throughout the 40 years that the experiment went on, even when, 15 years later, penicillin had become the standard of care. — Megha Satyanarayana, STAT, "He was a champion of public health — but played a role in the horrors of Tuskegee. Should a college expunge his name?," 27 Apr. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'penicillin.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for penicillin
penicillin
noun
English Language Learners Definition of penicillin
: a medicine that is used to kill harmful bacteria
See the full definition for penicillin in the English Language Learners Dictionary
penicillin
noun
\
Kids Definition of penicillin
: an antibiotic that is produced by a mold and is used against disease-causing bacteria
penicillin
noun
\
Medical Definition of penicillin
1 : a mixture of relatively nontoxic antibiotic acids produced especially by molds of the genus Penicillium (as P. notatum or P. chrysogenum) and having a powerful bacteriostatic effect against various chiefly gram-positive bacteria (as staphylococci, gonococci, pneumococci, hemolytic streptococci, or some meningococci)
2 : any of numerous often hygroscopic and unstable amido acids (as penicillin G, penicillin O, and penicillin V) that have a structure in which a four-membered lactam ring shares a nitrogen and a carbon atom with a thiazolidine ring to which it is fused and that are components of the penicillin mixture or are produced biosynthetically by the use of different strains of molds or different media or are synthesized chemically
3 : a salt or ester of a penicillin acid or a mixture of such salts or esters
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