noun

tuberculosis

choo-burk-yuu-LOH-sihs

noun

A serious infectious disease, usually affecting the lungs, caused by a bacterium and marked by coughing, fever, and weight loss.

"Tuberculosis was once one of the leading causes of death before effective antibiotics were developed."

"The clinic offers free screening for tuberculosis to anyone who has travelled recently."

How to Use Tuberculosis

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishA serious lung infection, often shortened to "TB."

Memory tip

You will almost always see this word abbreviated to TB in everyday speech and writing.

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Common pairings

tuberculosis diagnosis strain of tuberculosis pulmonary tuberculosis

Word Forms

tuberculoses plural

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_____ was once one of the leading causes of death before effective antibiotics were developed.

Etymology

Coined in the 1800s from Latin tuberculum ("small swelling") plus -osis ("diseased condition"), because the infection produces small lump-like nodules, or tubercles, in the lungs. For centuries before this scientific name existed, English simply called the disease "consumption," since it seemed to consume the sufferer's body away.

Rhymes for tuberculosis

necrosis neurosis hypnosis fibrosis diagnosis prognosis symbiosis halitosis psychosis cirrhosis sclerosis scoliosis

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