ampicillin

[ am-puh-sil-in ]

noun

, Pharmacology.

1. a broad-spectrum semisynthetic penicillin, C 16 H 19 N 3 O 4 S, effective against certain susceptible Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.

ampicillin

/ ˌæmpɪˈsɪlɪn /

noun

1. a semisynthetic penicillin used to treat various infections

ampicillin

/ ăm′pĭ-sĭl′ĭn /

1. An antibiotic derived from penicillin that has a broad antibacterial spectrum of action. It is effective against gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria and is used primarily to treat gonorrhea and infections of the respiratory, urinary, and intestinal tracts.

Word History and Origins

Origin of ampicillin¹

First recorded in 1965–70; probably am(inobenzyl)p(en)icillin, an alternate chemical name

Example Sentences

The strain typically resists four major antibiotics: ampicillin, streptomycin, sulfisoxazole and tetracycline.

From New York Times

Human and wildlife E. coli isolates also had similar levels of resistance to the same antibiotics—most commonly ampicillin, doxycycline, streptomycin, tetracycline, and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole.

From Science Magazine

Other drugs that the pathogen has overcome in the past include ampicillin, streptomycin and tetracycline.

From Scientific American

In the United States, most Shigella is already resistant to the antibiotics ampicillin and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole.

From US News

To see if antibiotics might have had a damaging effect on the heart, Orihuela's team infected mice with bacterial pneumonia and gave them high doses of the antibiotic ampicillin when heart lesions appeared.

From US News

Related Words

• penicillin