cross-resistance
Americannoun
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immunologic resistance to the pathogenic effects of a microorganism because of previous exposure to another species or type having cross-reactive antigens.
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resistance to the effects of a substance, as that of an insect population to an insecticide or a bacterial strain to an antibiotic, stimulated by exposure and adaptation to a similar or related substance.
Etymology
Origin of cross-resistance
First recorded in 1945–50
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Bacteria might evolve “cross-resistance” to various antiseptics if mutations that help microbes survive quats also end up protecting them against other antiseptic products or medications, the story suggests.
From Scientific American
Having a drug from a new class is important, because the rise of resistance to one drug from any class — such as fusion inhibitors or reverse transcriptase inhibitors — often creates cross-resistance to all similar drugs.
From Seattle Times
Researchers found that German cockroaches are becoming more difficult to eliminate because they are developing cross-resistance to insecticides.
From Fox News
The population growth was likely the result of cross-resistance, according to the study.
From Fox News
“If even a small percentage of cockroaches is resistant to an insecticide, and those cockroaches gain cross-resistance, a population knocked down by a single treatment could explode again within months,” the statement explains.
From Fox News
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
