tuberculosis
noun
tu·ber·cu·lo·sis
tu̇-ˌbər-kyə-ˈlō-səs 
tyu̇-
plural tuberculoses
tu̇-ˌbər-kyə-ˈlō-ˌsēz
tyu̇-
: a highly variable communicable disease of humans and some other vertebrates that is caused by the tubercle bacillus and rarely in the U.S. by a related mycobacterium (Mycobacterium bovis), that affects especially the lungs but may spread to other areas (such as the kidney or spinal column), and that is characterized by fever, cough, difficulty in breathing, formation of tubercles, caseation, pleural effusions, and fibrosis
Examples of tuberculosis in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Du Bellay suffered from poor health throughout his life; the horseman’s skeleton, meanwhile, showed signs of chronic meningitis caused by bone tuberculosis, both of which were rare diseases at the time.
—
Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Sep. 2024
The suicide of the chief physician at the former tuberculosis sanatorium shortly thereafter tied up that investigation with a neat bow for neophyte detective Hulda Hermannsdóttir and her boss.
—Paula L. Woods, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2024
Mycobacterium tuberculosis causes this disease, which has symptoms like a cough, chest pain, fever, and loss of appetite.
—Allison Futterman, Discover Magazine, 10 Sep. 2024
Even in the 1800s, by having open doors and windows, tuberculosis sanatoriums prevented the spread of disease by air.
—Maggie Fox, Scientific American, 3 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for tuberculosis 
Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Sep. 2024
The suicide of the chief physician at the former tuberculosis sanatorium shortly thereafter tied up that investigation with a neat bow for neophyte detective Hulda Hermannsdóttir and her boss.
—Paula L. Woods, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2024
Mycobacterium tuberculosis causes this disease, which has symptoms like a cough, chest pain, fever, and loss of appetite.
—Allison Futterman, Discover Magazine, 10 Sep. 2024
Even in the 1800s, by having open doors and windows, tuberculosis sanatoriums prevented the spread of disease by air.
—Maggie Fox, Scientific American, 3 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for tuberculosis
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Cite this Entry
“Tuberculosis.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tuberculosis. Accessed 2 Oct. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
tuberculosis
noun
tu·ber·cu·lo·sis
t(y)u̇-ˌbər-kyə-ˈlō-səs
: a disease of human beings and some other vertebrates caused by a bacterium and usually marked by wasting, fever, and formation of cheesy tubercles that in human beings occur mostly in the lungs
tuberculous
adjective
t(y)u̇-ˈbər-kyə-ləs
Medical Definition
tuberculosis
noun
tu·ber·cu·lo·sis
t(y)u̇-ˌbər-kyə-ˈlō-səs
plural tuberculoses
-ˌsēz
: a usually chronic highly variable disease that is caused by a bacterium of the genus Mycobacterium (M. tuberculosis) and rarely in the United States by a related mycobacterium (M. bovis), is usually communicated by inhalation of the airborne causative agent, affects especially the lungs but may spread to other areas (as the kidney or spinal column) from local lesions or by way of the lymph or blood vessels, and is characterized by fever, cough, difficulty in breathing, inflammatory infiltrations, formation of tubercles, caseation, pleural effusion, and fibrosis
called also TB
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