mycobacterium

British

/ ˌmaɪkəʊbækˈtɪərɪəm /

noun

any of the rod-shaped Gram-positive bacteria of the genus Mycobacterium , some of which cause human diseases, such as tuberculosis and leprosy

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

During her treatment at the Royal Hospital for Children she became seriously ill with a rare mycobacterium chelonae infection.

From BBC • Jan. 31, 2026

Caused by bacteria mycobacterium tuberculosis, tuberculosis disease is spread through the air.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2024

He and his colleagues were building a library of the proteins that make up the mycobacterium that causes TB.

From Salon • Oct. 5, 2023

He squints into microscopes looking for the rod-shaped mycobacterium leprae cells that drive this disease.

From New York Times • Jan. 25, 2022

Several studies even have shown that surgical masks fail to prevent transmission of the much larger mycobacterium tuberculosis, which causes TB.

From Slate • Jan. 27, 2020

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023