food poisoning

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noun
  1. an acute gastrointestinal condition characterized by such symptoms as headache, fever, chills, abdominal and muscular pain, nausea, diarrhea, and prostration, caused by foods that are naturally toxic, as poisonous mushrooms, by vegetable foods that are chemically contaminated, as by insecticides, or by bacteria or their toxins, especially of the genus Salmonella.

Origin of food poisoning

1
First recorded in 1885–90

Words Nearby food poisoning

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

How to use food poisoning in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for food poisoning

food poisoning

noun
  1. an acute illness typically characterized by gastrointestinal inflammation, vomiting, and diarrhoea, caused by food that is either naturally poisonous or contaminated by pathogenic bacteria (esp Salmonella)

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 food poisoning

food poisoning

  1. An acute gastrointestinal disorder characterized by vomiting and diarrhea, caused by eating food contaminated with bacteria, usually of the genus Salmonella or the genus Staphylococcus, which produces a toxin.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for food poisoning

food poisoning

Illnesses that arise from eating food contaminated with pathogenic or toxic (see toxins) substances. Characterized by vomiting and diarrhea, food poisoning is often caused by bacteria, such as salmonella or staphylococci. (See botulism.)

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.