pus

noun \ ˈpəs \

Updated on: 13 Apr 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)

See pus defined for English-language learners

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

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
The woman’s foot was in a bucket which was so full of pus that part of the woman's foot was covered in it.

— fares sabawi, San Antonio Express-News, "Boarding home operator arrested four years after problems found in home," 16 Mar. 2018
An 18-year-old woman rubbed her swollen belly after fleeing with her infant daughter when the wounds from her C-section began to ooze pus.

— Washington Post, "Sick Venezuelans flee to Colombia in mounting refugee crisis," 8 Mar. 2018
His wife remembered that it was filled with pus and looked awful.

— lisa sanders, m.d., New York Times, "Tests Indicated His Infection Was Getting Better. Why Did He Feel Worse?," 1 Feb. 2018
In response to the infection and inflammation, white blood cells can congregate in the area and make their way into your urine as pus, giving it a cloudy appearance, Dr. Cooper explains.

— korin miller, SELF, "5 Things That Can Cause Cloudy Pee," 31 Jan. 2018
If the appendiceal lumen is obstructed, the bacteria that lives in the appendix can multiply and lead to appendicitis, which essentially means having an inflamed appendix that’s filled with pus.

— korin miller, SELF, "How to Tell If Your Appendix Legit Might Burst or If It's Just a Bad Stomachache," 21 Dec. 2017

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

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)