bronchitis

noun

bron·​chi·​tis brän-ˈkī-təs 

bräŋ-

: acute or chronic inflammation of the bronchial tubes

also : a disease marked by this

bronchitic

brän-ˈki-tik 

bräŋ-

adjective

Did you know?

The bronchial tubes carry air into the tiny branches and smaller cells of the lungs. In bronchitis, the tubes become sore and you develop a deep cough. Bronchitis caused by bacteria can be treated with antibiotics, but there's no drug treatment for the more common kind caused by a virus. A bout of bronchitis may involve a couple of weeks of coughing (with no laughing allowed), weakness, and loss of energy and interest in doing things. Apart from that, bronchitis is rarely serious—at least if it doesn't progress to pneumonia.

Examples of bronchitis in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Here is a side-by-side comparison of bronchitis and pneumonia symptoms. —Kristina Herndon, Verywell Health, 30 Oct. 2024

It’s often caused by long-term exposure to tobacco smoke, chemical pollutants, and mineral, wood, or metal dusts that irritate the lungs; examples include emphysema and chronic bronchitis. —Matt Fuchs, TIME, 24 Oct. 2024

By then, the IRA would also sharply reduce levels of small inhalable particles, preventing up to 4,500 premature deaths, 119,000 asthma attacks, and about 179,000 cases of respiratory symptoms and bronchitis, plus thousands of hospital admissions and respiratory ER visits every year. —Frederica Perera, Scientific American, 31 Oct. 2024

Justin Timberlake has come down with bronchitis and laryngitis, forcing him to push a handful of upcoming tour dates to next year. —Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 23 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Late Latin bronchium "branch of a bronchus, bronchial tube" + -itis — more at bronchial

Note: The term bronchitis was apparently introduced into English by the British physician Charles Badham (1780-1845) in Observations on the Inflammatory Affections of the Mucous Membrane of the Bronchiæ (London: Callow, 1808), though the word had been used earlier (as a Latinate synonym of Luftröhrenästentzündung) by the German physician Johann Christian Stark (1753-1811) in Handbuch zur Kenntnis und Heilung innerer Krankheiten des menschlichen Körpers (Jena, 1799), pp. 144, 167.

First Known Use

1808, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

bronchitis

noun

bron·​chi·​tis brän-ˈkīt-əs 

bräŋ-

: inflammation of the bronchial tubes or a disease marked by this

Medical Definition

bronchitis

noun

bron·​chi·​tis brän-ˈkīt-əs, bräŋ- 

: acute or chronic inflammation of the bronchial tubes

also : a disease marked by this

bronchitic

-ˈkit-ik 

adjective