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

tetanus

noun
 
/ˈtetnəs/
 
/ˈtetnəs/
 [uncountable]
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  1. a disease in which the muscles, especially the jaw muscles, become stiff, caused by bacteria entering the body through cuts or woundsTopics Health problemsc2
    Oxford Collocations DictionaryTetanus is used before these nouns:
    • injection
    • jab
    • shot
    • …
    See full entry
    Word Originlate Middle English: from Latin, from Greek tetanos ‘muscular spasm’, from teinein ‘to stretch’.
See tetanus in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
Check pronunciation: tetanus

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