salmonella

American  

[sal-muh-nel-uh] / ˌsæl məˈnɛl ə /

noun

Bacteriology.

salmonellae plural

1. any of several rod-shaped, facultatively anaerobic bacteria of the genus Salmonella, as S. typhosa, that may enter the digestive tract of humans and other mammals in contaminated food and cause abdominal pains and violent diarrhea.

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salmonella British  

/ ˌsælməˈnɛlə /

noun

1. any Gram-negative rod-shaped aerobic bacterium of the genus Salmonella, including S. typhosa, which causes typhoid fever, and many species (notably S. enteritidis ) that cause food poisoning ( salmonellosis ): family Enterobacteriaceae

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salmonella Scientific  

/ săl′mə-nĕl′ə /

salmonellae plural

1. Any of various gram-negative, rod-shaped bacteria of the genus Salmonella that cause food poisoning and typhoid fever in humans and other mammals.

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salmonella Cultural  

1. A category of bacteria that occurs in many pathogenic forms. One kind causes typhoid fever; there is evidence that other kinds cause various forms of food poisoning.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• salmonellae
  plural

Etymology

Origin of salmonella

< New Latin (1900), after Daniel E. Salmon (1850–1914), U.S. pathologist; see -ella

Explanation

Salmonella is a type of bacteria that causes food poisoning or even typhoid fever in people and their pets. If you eat something contaminated with salmonella, you’ll get cramps, diarrhea, and a fever for a few days. Yuk! Salmonella has nothing to do with salmon. It’s named after the American scientist Daniel E. Salmon (1850-1914), who isolated this type of Gram-negative enterobacteria in 1885. It's not good to eat raw eggs or meat because cooking kills bacteria such as salmonella. Salmonella also causes typhoid fever — people with typhoid fever can spread it around by accident, like Typhoid Mary did in the 1800’s, when she served food that made a lot of people sick.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

salmonella salmonellae

The FDA also said Wednesday that it was investigating at least 106 reported cases of salmonella and eight cases of listeria.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

Unlike bacteria that cause other food-borne illnesses—like salmonella and E. coli—cyclospora don’t infect animals, according to Dr. Ewen Todd, a food-safety consultant and adjunct professor at Michigan State University.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

The recall of a popular chip brand over salmonella concerns was recently upgraded to the U.S.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026

McAfee confirmed that milk with pathogens was used to make cheese, except for batches with salmonella, which he said were dumped or sent out for pasteurization.

From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026

They used HeLa to test the effects of steroids, chemotherapy drugs, hormones, vitamins, and environmental stress; they infected them with tuberculosis, salmonella, and the bacterium that causes vaginitis.

From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot

We now see that other salmonellae can produce the same long-term problems.

From Scientific American ● Jul. 27, 2012

Related Words

• botulism