cephalosporin

[ sef-uh-loh-spawr-in, -spohr- ]

/ ˌsɛf ə loʊˈspɔr ɪn, -ˈspoʊr- /

noun Pharmacology.

any of a group of widely used broad-spectrum antibiotics, originally isolated as a product of fermentation from the fungus Cephalosporium acremonium.

Nearby words

cephalon, cephalonia, cephalopathy, cephalopelvic, cephalopod, cephalosporin, cephalosporinase, cephalostat, cephalothoracic, cephalothorax, cephalous

Origin of cephalosporin

1950–55; < New Latin Cephalospor(ium) the genus (see cephalo-, -spore, -ium) + -in²

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for cephalosporin

cephalosporin

/ (ˌsɛfələʊˈspɔːrɪn) /

noun

any of a group of broad-spectrum antibiotics obtained from fungi of the genus Cephalosporium

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

Medicine definitions for cephalosporin

cephalosporin

[ sĕf-ə-lə-spôr′ĭn ]

n.

Any of various broad-spectrum antibiotics, closely related to the penicillins, that were originally derived from the fungus Cephalosporium acremonium and are used to treat bacterial infections.