anthrax

[ an-thraks ]

/ ˈæn θræks /

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noun, plural an·thra·ces

[an-thruh-seez]. /ˈæn θrəˌsiz/. Pathology.

an infectious, often fatal disease of cattle, sheep, and other mammals, caused by Bacillus anthracis, transmitted to humans by contaminated wool, raw meat, or other animal products.

a malignant carbuncle that is the diagnostic lesion of anthrax disease in humans.

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Origin of anthrax

1350–1400; Middle English antrax malignant boil or growth <Latin anthrax carbuncle <Greek ánthrax a coal, carbuncle

Words nearby anthrax

anthracosis, anthranilate, anthranilic acid, anthraquinone, anthraquinone dye, anthrax, anthro, anthrop., anthropause, anthropic, anthropic principle

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use anthrax in a sentence

It will be focused on chemicals, and not biological agents like anthrax, nor radiological or nuclear concerns.
Wearable sensors may one day sniff out chemical weapons for soldiers|Rob Verger|June 22, 2021|Popular-Science
If anthrax were to blame, other animals would have been affected, but they were not.
Elephants are dying in droves in Botswana. Scientists don’t know why|Tawanda Karombo|May 14, 2021|Science News
The nomads’ cattle would be immunized against brucellosis and anthrax bacterial infections.
A new polio vaccine joins the fight to vanquish the paralyzing disease|Aimee Cunningham|January 8, 2021|Science News
A military vaccine for inhalation anthrax—impossible to test because hardly anyone gets that disease—was cleared in that way.
One doctor’s campaign to stop a covid-19 vaccine being rushed through before Election Day|David Rotman|October 19, 2020|MIT Technology Review

The only other vaccine that has ever received an EUA was an anthrax vaccine, but it’s not a useful comparison because the vaccine was already in use and the 2005 authorization was granted to allow the US.
How to Tell a Political Stunt From a Real Vaccine|by Caroline Chen, Isaac Arnsdorf and Ryan Gabrielson|September 26, 2020|ProPublica
The son is reportedly part of a new generation of young drug lords who called themselves “the Anthrax Group.”
Could El Chapo Go Free?|Michael Daly|November 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Where better to test cultures of anthrax, typhoid, plague and tularemia than on an island in a sea in the middle of the desert?
The Aral Sea's Disappearing Act|Anna Nemtsova|October 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As a result of the small size of the spores, anthrax is virtually impossible to see, smell, or taste.
CDC: 80 May Have Been Exposed to Anthrax|Abby Haglage|June 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
News that 75 government scientists had been exposed to anthrax in Atlanta sent shivers up the spine of the science world Thursday.
CDC: 80 May Have Been Exposed to Anthrax|Abby Haglage|June 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“Anthrax could be released in a city, quietly, without anyone knowing,” the narrator says.
CDC: 80 May Have Been Exposed to Anthrax|Abby Haglage|June 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Around it I find only some scanty relics of its meals, consisting chiefly of Anthrax-wings, half-diaphanous and half-clouded.
More Hunting Wasps|J. Henri Fabre
Plague, anthrax, yellow fever, cannot exist in one country without harm to all.
The Ethics of Coperation|James Hayden Tufts
Pick off any colonies resembling those of anthrax and subcultivate on all the ordinary laboratory media.
The Elements of Bacteriological Technique|John William Henry Eyre
It has been suggested that the horse flies carry anthrax, and their bites sometimes cause malignant pustules.
Book of Monsters|David Fairchild and Marian Hubbard (Bell) Fairchild
A similar structure exists in the other species of Anthrax with slight variations of detail.
The Life of the Fly|J. Henri Fabre

British Dictionary definitions for anthrax

anthrax

/ (ˈænθræks) /

noun plural -thraces (-θrəˌsiːz)

a highly infectious and often fatal disease of herbivores, esp cattle and sheep, characterized by fever, enlarged spleen, and swelling of the throat. Carnivores are relatively resistant. It is caused by the spore-forming bacterium Bacillus anthracis and can be transmitted to man

a pustule or other lesion caused by this disease

Word Origin for anthrax

C19: from Late Latin, from Greek: carbuncle

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for anthrax

anthrax

[ ăn′thrăks′ ]

An infectious, usually fatal disease of mammals, especially cattle and sheep, caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. The disease is transmitted to humans through cutaneous contact, ingestion, or inhalation. Cutaneous anthrax is marked by the formation of a necrotic skin ulcer, high fever, and toxemia. Inhalation anthrax leads to severe pneumonia that is usually fatal.

Cultural definitions for anthrax

anthrax

An infectious disease transmitted by a bacterium in animals, which can also be transmitted to humans. Often fatal if the bacterium enters the lungs, anthrax is usually treated by antibiotics. Anthrax is a potential weapon in germ warfare and bioterrorism (see also bioterrorism).

notes for anthrax

After the September 11 attacks (2001) in the United States, anthrax spores sent through the mail caused several fatalities.

notes for anthrax

If spores are prepared in a sophisticated way, they can stay in the air and be breathed in by human beings. Anthrax produced in this way is referred to as weaponized anthrax.