pus

noun \ ˈpəs \

|Updated on: 7 Jun 2018

Definition of pus

: a thick, opaque, usually yellowish-white, fluid matter that is formed as part of an inflammatory response typically associated with an infection and is composed of exudate chiefly containing dead white blood cells (such as neutrophils), tissue debris, and pathogenic microorganisms (such as bacteria)

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See pus defined for kids

Examples of pus in a Sentence

Pus oozed from the cat's injured ear.

Recent Examples of pus from the Web

The researchers discovered that people generally rated infected wounds producing pus as most disgusting.

— susan scutti, CNN, "Feeling disgust helps us stay healthy, study says," 4 June 2018
Prescott's daughter suffered a nasty, red burn with an oozing, yellow pus center on her arm.

— littice bacon-blood, NOLA.com, "Huey P. Long Bridge to close early Saturday for race," 10 May 2018
The sacs can fill with fluid or pus, causing a cough, fever, chills, and difficulty breathing, the Mayo Clinic says.

— korin miller, SELF, "9 Causes of That Random Chest Pain," 26 Apr. 2018
An infection can cause abscesses (pockets of pus surrounded by inflamed tissue) to form throughout the buttocks.

— carolyn l. todd, SELF, "Cardi B’s Butt Injection Story Is a Reminder of How Dangerous Illegal Cosmetic Surgery Can Be," 13 Apr. 2018
Over 10 million people have viewed the prodding and pulling, as one person extracts pus from the ear using a pair of tweezers.

— blake bakkila, Health.com, "This Viral Pimple-Popping Video Will Give You Nightmares," 16 Feb. 2018
Symptoms begin with pus-like discharge from the eyes, coughing, fevers and lethargy.

— brigit katz, Smithsonian, "‘Zombie-Like’ Raccoons Are Terrorizing Youngstown, Ohio," 6 Apr. 2018
Building a Baseline For Muneza, his first task was scouring previous giraffe studies for any reference to the telltale signs of the disease: those lesions that sometimes ooze blood or pus.

— robert montgomery, National Geographic, "Mysterious Giraffe Disease Has Scientists Baffled," 30 Mar. 2018
The poor little thing, one side of his face was nothing but blood and pus and swollen and bruised.

— win mccormack, The New Republic, "Outside the Limits of the Human Imagination," 27 Mar. 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of pus

Latin pur-, pus — more at foul

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

Other Medicine Terms

analgesia, angina, diabetes, hepatitis, homeopathy, logorrhea, palliate, pandemic

PUS Defined for English Language Learners

pus

noun

Definition of pus for English Language Learners

medical : a thick, yellowish substance that is produced when a part of the body or a wound becomes infected

PUS Defined for Kids

pus

noun \ ˈpəs \

Definition of pus for Students

: a thick yellowish substance that is produced when a part of the body or a wound becomes infected

Medical Dictionary

pus

noun \ ˈpəs \

medical Definition of pus

: a thick, opaque, usually yellowish-white, fluid matter that is formed as part of an inflammatory response typically associated with an infection and is composed of exudate chiefly containing dead white blood cells (as neutrophils), tissue debris, and pathogenic microorganisms (as bacteria)