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sulfa drug
noun
: any of various synthetic organic bacteria-inhibiting drugs that are sulfonamides derived especially from sulfanilamide
Examples of sulfa drug in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Indeed, common hospital bacteria--including the staphylococci and the enterococci--have learned to laugh at a long list of once-reliable later-generation antibiotics, including methicillin, erythromycin, tetracycline, streptomycin, and the sulfa drugs.
—Mark Caldwell, Discover Magazine, 11 Nov. 2019
The most common medications people experience allergies to include penicillin, antibiotics, sulfa drugs, anticonvulsants, and aspirin, ibuprofen and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma,and Immunology.
—Lisa Mulcahy, Men's Health, 29 Aug. 2023
This is also true of multiple oral antibiotics in the class known as sulfa drugs.
—Claudia Wallis, Scientific American, 1 Jan. 2020
Cons: Can be tough to insert; not for those allergic to sulfa drugs or polyurethane.
—The Editors, Marie Claire, 14 June 2019
The strongest connection between antibiotics and kidney stones was found in the category called sulfa drugs, which includes Bactrim.
—Tom Avril, Philly.com, 10 May 2018
The drugs ranged from broad-spectrum penicillins, which increased the risk by 27 percent, to sulfa drugs, which were associated with more than double the risk.
—Nicholas Bakalar, New York Times, 10 May 2018
Patients who had taken sulfa drugs were more than twice as likely to develop kidney stones three to 12 months afterward than people who had not taken the medicines, the researchers found.
—Tom Avril, Philly.com, 10 May 2018
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sulfa drug.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1940, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near sulfa drug
Cite this Entry
“Sulfa drug.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sulfa%20drug. Accessed 9 Oct. 2024.
Kids Definition
sulfa drug
noun
: any of various synthetic drugs that stop or slow the growth of bacteria and are derived especially from sulfanilamide
Medical Definition
sulfa drug
noun
: any of various synthetic organic bacteria-inhibiting drugs that are sulfonamides closely related chemically to sulfanilamide
called also sulfa
More from Merriam-Webster on sulfa drug
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about sulfa drug
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