bacteriostatic

American  

[bak-teer-ee-uh-stat-ik] / bækˌtɪər i əˈstæt ɪk /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or aiding the prevention of further growth of bacteria.

   Aloe has a bacteriostatic effect on many groups of microbes, such as diphtheria, streptococcus, dysentery, and typhoid.

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Other Word Forms

• bacteriostatically adverb

Etymology

Origin of bacteriostatic

First recorded in 1910–15; bacteri- ( def. ) + -o- ( def. ) + static ( def. )

Example Sentences

That's not just folklore, O'Leary says: "There's pretty good data that there's something in cranberry, the fruit and the juice, that is bacteriostatic – that prevents the growth of bacteria."

From US News • Sep. 18, 2015

Used in low concentrations in the blood stream, penicillin's action is bacteriostatic, i.e., it prevents bacteria from multiplying and renders them easy prey for white blood corpuscles.

From Time Magazine Archive