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Alexander Fleming’s discovery of penicillin began with what laboratory anomaly?

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anomaly

American  

[uh-nom-uh-lee] / əˈnɒm ə li /

noun

• anomalies
  plural

1. a deviation from the common rule, type, arrangement, or form.

   Synonyms:

   exception, aberration, abnormality

2. an anomalous person or thing; one that is abnormal or does not fit in.

   With his quiet nature, he was an anomaly in his exuberant family.

   Synonyms:

   exception, aberration, abnormality

3. an odd, peculiar, or strange condition, situation, quality, etc.

4. an incongruity or inconsistency.

5. Astronomy. a quantity measured in degrees, defining the position of an orbiting body with respect to the point at which it is nearest to or farthest from its primary.

6. Meteorology. the amount of deviation of a meteorological quantity from the accepted normal value of that quantity.

7. Grammar. irregularity.

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anomaly British  

/ əˈnɒməlɪ /

noun

1. something anomalous

2. deviation from the normal or usual order, type, etc; irregularity

3. astronomy

   1. Also called: true anomaly.  the angle between a planet, the sun, and the previous perihelion of the planet

   2. Also called: eccentric anomaly.  the angle between the periapsis of a particular point on a circle round the orbit as seen from the centre of the orbit. This point is obtained by producing a perpendicular to the major axis of the ellipse through the orbiting body until it reaches the circumference of the circle

   3. Also called: mean anomaly.  the angle between the periapsis of an orbit and the position of an imaginary body orbiting at a constant angular speed and in the same period as the real orbiting body

4. geology

   1. Also called: gravity anomaly.  a deviation from the normal value of gravity at the earth's surface, caused by density differences at depth, for example those caused by a buried mineral body

   2. Also called: magnetic anomaly.  a magnetic field, for example one produced by a buried mineral body, that deviates from an expected or standard value, usually that of the earth's magnetic field

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• anomalistic
  adjective
• anomalistically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• anomalies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of anomaly

First recorded in 1565–75; from Latin anōmalia, from Greek anōmalía, equivalent to anṓmal(os) “irregular” + -ia noun suffix; see anomalous, -ia

Explanation

An anomaly is an abnormality, a blip on the screen of life that doesn’t fit with the rest of the pattern. If you are a breeder of black dogs and one puppy comes out pink, that puppy is an anomaly. The noun anomaly comes from the Greek word anomolia, meaning "uneven” or “irregular.” When something is unusual compared to similar things around it, it’s the anomaly. If you are an Olympian who comes from a family of bookish types who all find it strenuous to walk the dog, you are an anomaly.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

anomaly anomalies

But according to the most recent Burning Man census, Samantha is an anomaly.

From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026

They found that this contribution was equivalent to only 9% of the observed snowfall anomaly.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 6, 2026

Harvard Law’s Laurence Tribe traces the anomaly to a technical error: “a profound fallacy about spectrum scarcity.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

The sea surface temperature anomaly -- how much warmer the ocean is compared to average -- is already near record high, Kirtman added.

From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026

The following sports anomaly has legal implications as well.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos

This means the satellite sensor and an algorithm identified a pixel containing thermal anomalies associated with fire.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 6, 2026

Latest forecasts from the Met Office suggest that these temperature anomalies could exceed 3C later this year as El Niño nears its peak.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

If the model detects anomalies in new raw materials, for instance, it will suggest small adjustments, like tweaking the amount of oil or water going into the recipe.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

The fake party invite did not lead to the official website for a start, and there were anomalies like an extra “s.”

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026

In retrospect all those anomalies make perfect sense.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell

Related Words

• aberration
• abnormality
• deviation
• inconsistency
• irregularity
• oddity
• rarity