allergy
noun/ˈælədʒi/
/ˈælərdʒi/
(plural allergies)
- a medical condition that causes you to react badly or feel ill when you eat or touch a particular substance
- He has a severe nut allergy.
- Food allergies affect six to eight per cent of children.
- allergy to something I have an allergy to animal hair.
- Hay fever is caused by an allergy to pollen.
Extra ExamplesTopics Health problemsb2- Hair and feathers can cause allergies.
- He developed an allergy to wheat.
- In severe cases your doctor may recommend allergy shots.
- You may wish to consult a food allergy specialist for help in planning your diet.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- food
- milk
- nut
- …
- have
- suffer from
- develop
- …
- sufferer
- specialist
- symptom
- …
- allergy to
- allergy in
Word Originearly 20th cent.: from German Allergie, from Greek allos ‘other’, on the pattern of Energie ‘energy’.Definitions on the go
Look up any word in the dictionary offline, anytime, anywhere with the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app.
Check pronunciation:
allergy