pneumococcus

American  

[noo-muh-kok-uhs, nyoo‑] / ˌnu məˈkɒk əs, ˌnyu‑ /

noun

plural

pneumococci

1. a bacterium, Diplococcus pneumoniae, causing lobar pneumonia and associated with certain other diseases, as pericarditis and meningitis.

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pneumococcus British  

/ ˌnjuːməʊˈkɒkəs /

noun

1. a spherical bacterium that occurs in the respiratory tract, esp the Gram-positive Diplococcus pneumoniae, which causes pneumonia

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Other Word Forms

• pneumococcal adjective
• pneumococcic adjective
• pneumococcous adjective

Etymology

Origin of pneumococcus

From New Latin, dating back to 1885–90; pneumo- , -coccus

Example Sentences

In the case of pneumococcus, for example, immunizing children indirectly protects older adults by limiting transmission.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 6, 2022

You know, you and I can be exposed to a pneumococcus and one person gets pneumonia and the other doesn’t.

From The New Yorker • Oct. 17, 2019

We have children’s vaccines against measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, chickenpox, polio, hepatitis A and B, rotavirus, pneumococcus, haemophilus influenzae and meningococcal disease.

From New York Times • Nov. 20, 2018

Also called pneumococcus, this pathogen is the most common perpetrator of community-acquired pneumonia, which is pneumonia that people get outside hospitals and nursing homes.

From Washington Post • Dec. 30, 2016

Griffith approached the problem by focusing on the microbe: Why was pneumococcus so fatal to animals?

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee