tuberculosis

noun tu·ber·cu·lo·sis \ tu̇-ˌbər-kyə-ˈlō-səs , tyu̇- \

|Updated on: 10 Aug 2018

Definition of tuberculosis

plural tuberculoses play \tu̇-ˌbər-kyə-ˈlō-ˌsēz, tyu̇-\

: a highly variable communicable disease of humans and some other vertebrates that is caused by the tubercle bacillus and rarely in the U.S. by a related mycobacterium (Mycobacterium bovis), that affects especially the lungs but may spread to other areas (such as the kidney or spinal column), and that is characterized by fever, cough, difficulty in breathing, formation of tubercles, caseation, pleural effusions, and fibrosis

See tuberculosis defined for English-language learners

See tuberculosis defined for kids

Recent Examples of tuberculosis from the Web

The first, Carl von Ossietzky, died of tuberculosis in Germany in 1938 while jailed for opposing Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime.

— Washington Post, "Nobel widow allowed to leave China after long house arrest," 10 July 2018
The first, Carl von Ossietzky, died of tuberculosis in Germany in 1938 while jailed for opposing Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime.

— gerry shih, The Seattle Times, "Nobel widow allowed to leave China after long house arrest," 10 July 2018
The first, Carl von Ossietzky, died of tuberculosis in Germany in 1938 while jailed for opposing Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime.

— gerry shih and kirsten grieshaber, chicagotribune.com, "China lets Nobel Prize winner's widow go to Berlin after long house arrest," 10 July 2018
Another bout with tuberculosis derailed those series, and both ended within a year.

— andy webster, New York Times, "Steve Ditko, Influential Comic-Book Artist Who Helped Create Spider-Man, Dies at 90," 7 July 2018
On 30 June, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria will pull the plug on its grants to North Korea, which has one of the highest rates of tuberculosis (TB) in the world.

— richard stone, Science | AAAS, "Major donor nixes effort to combat tuberculosis crisis in North Korea," 29 June 2018
His quest for health began after being diagnosed with tuberculosis at 16.

— kyle beechey, Bon Appetit, "The Mysterious Hippie Food Brand That's Never Let Me Down," 27 June 2018
Homeless people, especially the chronically homeless, experience health problems as disparate as tooth infections and eye problems, trench foot, and body lice up through infectious diseases like tuberculosis and hepatitis A.

— adam rogers, WIRED, "Big Tech Isn’t the Problem With Homelessness. It’s All of Us," 21 June 2018
The new paper describes how the BCG vaccine, which has been used for nearly 100 years against tuberculosis and is considered extremely safe, might affect diabetes.

— sharon begley, STAT, "Controversial researcher’s diabetes vaccine causes improvement in small study," 21 June 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of tuberculosis

New Latin

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1839

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

TUBERCULOSIS Defined for English Language Learners

tuberculosis

noun

Definition of tuberculosis for English Language Learners

medical : a serious disease that mainly affects the lungs

TUBERCULOSIS Defined for Kids

tuberculosis

noun tu·ber·cu·lo·sis \ tu̇-ˌbər-kyə-ˈlō-səs , tyu̇- \

Definition of tuberculosis for Students

: a serious disease that mostly affects the lungs and in which there is fever, cough, and difficulty in breathing

Medical Dictionary

tuberculosis

noun tu·ber·cu·lo·sis \ t(y)u̇-ˌbər-kyə-ˈlō-səs \

medical Definition of tuberculosis

plural tuberculoses play \-ˌsēz\

: a usually chronic highly variable disease that is caused by a bacterium of the genus Mycobacterium (M. tuberculosis) and rarely in the United States by a related mycobacterium (M. bovis), is usually communicated by inhalation of the airborne causative agent, affects especially the lungs but may spread to other areas (as the kidney or spinal column) from local lesions or by way of the lymph or blood vessels, and is characterized by fever, cough, difficulty in breathing, inflammatory infiltrations, formation of tubercles, caseation, pleural effusion, and fibrosis — called also TB