TOP

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

diphtheria

noun
 
/dɪfˈθɪəriə/,
 
/dɪpˈθɪəriə/
 
/dɪfˈθɪriə/,
 
/dɪpˈθɪriə/
 [uncountable]
jump to other results
  1. a serious disease of the throat that causes difficulty in breathing
    • Parents are advised to have their children immunized against diphtheria.
    Topics Health problemsc2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverb + diphtheria
    • have
    • suffer from
    • catch
    • …
    diphtheria + noun
    • epidemic
    • vaccine
    See full entry
    Word Originmid 19th cent.: modern Latin, from French diphthérie (earlier diphthérite), from Greek diphthera ‘skin, hide’.
See diphtheria in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
Check pronunciation: diphtheria

Nearby words

trait
noun
 
 
From the Word list
Oxford 5000
B2
Oxford Learner's Dictionaries Word of the Day