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Definition of antibiotic noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

antibiotic

noun
 
/ˌæntibaɪˈɒtɪk/
 
/ˌæntibaɪˈɑːtɪk/,
 
/ˌæntaɪbaɪˈɑːtɪk/
 [usually plural]
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  1. a substance, for example penicillin, that can destroy or prevent the growth of bacteria and cure infections
    • The doctor put her on antibiotics (= told her to take them).
    Extra Examples
    • I got an antibiotic for my ear infection.
    • Meat from animals that receive antibiotics could not be classified as organic.
    Topics Social issuesb2, Healthcareb2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • effective
    • oral
    • broad-spectrum
    • …
    … of antibiotics
    • course
    • dose
    verb + antibiotic
    • be on
    • take
    • be given
    • …
    preposition
    • antibiotic for
    See full entry
    Word Originmid 19th cent. (in the sense ‘doubting the possibility of life in a certain environment’): from anti- + Greek biōtikos ‘fit for life’ (from bios ‘life’).
See antibiotic in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee antibiotic in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
Check pronunciation: antibiotic

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trait
noun
 
 
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