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.
Regular use of tylosin on farms, he added, “is a genuinely bad idea because of cross-resistance, involving important drugs used in human medicine.”
From New York Times • Mar. 23, 2018
The risk is that overuse could spur the creation of so-called superbugs that develop cross-resistance to antibiotics used to treat humans.
From Reuters • Mar. 8, 2015
With cross-resistance, immunity acquired to one pesticide can transfer to a completely different chemical if the two have the same mode of action.
From Scientific American • Jul. 29, 2013
That means the old drugs and the new drugs "should not have cross-resistance," says Ma.
From Time Magazine Archive
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.
