tuberculosis

noun

tu·​ber·​cu·​lo·​sis tu̇-ˌbər-kyə-ˈlō-səs 

tyu̇-

plural tuberculoses 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

Examples of tuberculosis in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

About 175,000 people in San Diego county are believed to have latent tuberculosis and be at risk without preventative treatment. —Jemma Stephenson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Mar. 2026

There is humor and there is drama, as Rhoda is inflicted with tuberculosis and hospitalized in suburban Winfield and Denver. —Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune, 11 Mar. 2026

More than 90% of active cases in the Bay Area now occur among immigrants that have come from countries that lack easy access to vaccines, according to Stanford tuberculosis researcher Jason Andrews. —Chase Hunter, Mercury News, 9 Mar. 2026

There have also been outbreaks of both tuberculosis and measles. —Julia Ainsley, NBC news, 5 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

New Latin

First Known Use

1839, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for tuberculosis

• amyloidosis
• anaplasmosis
• anastomosis
• aponeurosis
• apotheosis
• aspergillosis
• blastomycosis
• coccidiosis
• cryptococcosis
• cysticercosis
• endocytosis
• exocytosis

Kids Definition

tuberculosis

noun

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

: a disease of human beings and some other vertebrates caused by a bacterium and usually marked by wasting, fever, and formation of cheesy tubercles that in human beings occur mostly in the lungs

tuberculous

t(y)u̇-ˈbər-kyə-ləs

adjective

Medical Definition

tuberculosis

noun

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

plural tuberculoses -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