infection

American  

[in-fek-shuhn] / ɪnˈfɛk ʃən /

noun

• infections
  plural

1. an act or fact of infecting; state of being infected.

2. an infecting with germs of disease, as through the medium of infected insects, air, water, or clothing.

3. an infecting agency or influence.

4. an infectious disease.

   Is this infection very dangerous?

5. the condition of suffering an infection.

6. corruption of another's opinions, beliefs, moral principles, etc.; moral contamination.

7. an influence or impulse passing from one to another and affecting feeling or action.

8. Grammar. (in Celtic languages) assimilation in which a vowel is influenced by a following vowel or semivowel; umlaut.

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infection British  

/ ɪnˈfɛkʃən /

noun

1. invasion of the body by pathogenic microorganisms

2. the resulting condition in the tissues

3. an infectious disease

4. the act of infecting or state of being infected

5. an agent or influence that infects

6. persuasion or corruption, as by ideas, perverse influences, etc

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infection Scientific  

/ ĭn-fĕk′shən /

1. The invasion of the body of a human or an animal by a pathogen such as a bacterium, fungus, or virus. Infections can be localized, as in pharyngitis, or widespread as in sepsis, and are often accompanied by fever and an increased number of white blood cells. Individuals with immunodeficiency syndromes are predisposed to certain infections.

2. See also infectious disease opportunistic infection

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infection Cultural  

1. Invasion of the body or a body part by a pathogenic organism, which multiplies and produces harmful effects on the body's tissues.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• noninfection
  noun
• preinfection
  noun
• reinfection
  noun
• subinfection
  noun
• postinfection
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• infections
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of infection

1350–1400; Middle English infeccio ( u ) n < Late Latin infectiōn- (stem of infectiō ). See infect, -ion

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Explanation

Infections are what happens when germs invade your body and cause a disease. Some, like meningitis, an infection of the tissues covering the brain and spinal cord, can be deadly. Others, like the common cold, are relatively mild. If you've ever scraped your knee and ended up with a swollen, achy scab, you know that you can develop an infection if you don't tend to your cuts and wounds and keep them clean. Though the word was traditionally used in the medical sense to refer to the pathogens, or germs, that cause illness, infection is now sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to people or things that act like pathogens. If rival gangs turn a neighborhood into a battleground, you could refer to this as an infection of gang activity.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

infection infections

He was discharged with a complex postsurgery medication regimen to keep his immune system in check and prevent infection, one that had to be followed perfectly.

From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026

These molecules interfere with normal plant functions, allowing the pathogen to establish an infection and promote disease.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2026

The disease contributed to blood loss, anemia, and a serious secondary bacterial infection.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026

It revealed that he first started feeling unwell in DR Congo on 15 September - and showed how several opportunities to detect the infection were missed, including during several visits to Congolese medical facilities.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

To prevent shock and infection, he would be given fluids and antibiotics intravenously through a sterile tube and needle directly into his bloodstream.

From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow

These cells normally develop into macrophages and other immune cells that protect the body from infections and participate in immune responses.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026

By engineering the natural immune defenses of plants, researchers have developed an experimental approach that could eventually help wheat, rice, and barley resist fungal infections more effectively.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2026

Armed with this structural information, the researchers modified TKP immune receptors so they could recognize two different fungal effectors associated with infections in wheat and barley.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2026

Chronic UTIs are infections where symptoms do not go away, and do not clear with a short course of antibiotics.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

I find pediatric sick-visit reports for rashes, allergies, eczema, colds, fevers, and two ear infections, all before I was four months old.

From "Everything, Everything" by Nicola Yoon

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