fluorouracil

noun

fluo·​ro·​ura·​cil ˌflu̇r-ō-ˈyu̇r-ə-ˌsil How to pronounce fluorouracil (audio)
-ˌsəl,
ˌflȯr-
: a fluorine-containing pyrimidine base C4H3FN2O2 used as a neoplastic agent to treat some kinds of cancer

Examples of fluorouracil in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Rosen was one of more than 275,000 cancer patients in the United States who are infused each year with fluorouracil, known as 5-FU, or, as in Rosen’s case, take a nearly identical drug in pill form called capecitabine. Arthur Allen | Kff Health News, NBC News, 27 Mar. 2024 The Turtle Hospital on Marathon Key and the University of Florida’s Sea Turtle Hospital, working closely together, have used human anti-cancer drug treatments such as fluorouracil to decrease post-surgical recurrence of eye tumors in sea turtles. Jessica Alice Farrell, Smithsonian, 11 July 2018 The 16 drugs that Pfizer and Cipla will sell have unfamiliar names like vinblastine, bleomycin and fluorouracil. Donald G. McNeil Jr., New York Times, 7 Oct. 2017

Word History

Etymology

fluor- + uracil

First Known Use

circa 1958, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of fluorouracil was circa 1958

Dictionary Entries Near fluorouracil

Cite this Entry

“Fluorouracil.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fluorouracil. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

Medical Definition

fluorouracil

noun
flu·​o·​ro·​ura·​cil ˌflu̇(-ə)r-ō-ˈyu̇r-ə-ˌsil, -ˌsəl How to pronounce fluorouracil (audio)
variants or 5-fluorouracil
: a fluorine-containing pyrimidine base C4H3FN2O2 used to treat some kinds of cancer
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