Lyme disease

[ lahym ]

/ laɪm /

Save This Word!

noun Pathology.

an acute inflammatory disease caused by a tick-borne spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, characterized by recurrent episodes of decreasing severity in which joint swelling, fever, and rash occur, sometimes with cardiac or nervous system complications.

QUIZ

ALL IN FAVO(U)R OF THIS BRITISH VS. AMERICAN ENGLISH QUIZ

There's an ocean of difference between the way people speak English in the US vs. the UK. Are your language skills up to the task of telling the difference? Let's find out!

Question 1 of 7

True or false? British English and American English are only different when it comes to slang words.

true

false

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of Lyme disease

After Lyme, Conn., where it was first described

Words nearby Lyme disease

lying-in, lyke-wake, Lyle, Lyly, Lyman, Lyme disease, lyme grass, lyme-hound, Lyme Regis, Lymington, lymph

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

How to use Lyme disease in a sentence

Without it, they say, the disease would surely kill her within two years.
Should Teens Have The Right To Die?|Brandy Zadrozny|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
He beat his illness twice, wrote about his battles with the disease, and continued broadcasting even as his health was failing.
Remembering ESPN’s Sly, Cocky, and Cool Anchor Stuart Scott|Stereo Williams|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It was a reminder that, as Beyoncé once sang, “Perfection is the disease of a nation,” and her family is hardly flawless.
Yoncé Said Knock You Out: The Solange and Jay Z Story|Kevin O’Keeffe|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
World peace, religious tolerance, and an end to global poverty, hunger, and disease.
Santa Fails One More Time|P. J. O’Rourke|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Despite the obvious ongoing problems with disease and access to basics, the future of Africa is bright.
Silicon Valley Sets Its Sights on Africa|Christian Borys|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In disease, the amount of solids depends mainly upon the activity of metabolism and the ability of the kidneys to excrete.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
Men's lives are as thoroughly blended with each other as the air they breathe: evil spreads as necessarily as disease.
Pearls of Thought|Maturin M. Ballou
As a rule, however, persistent glycosuria is diagnostic of diabetes mellitus, of which disease it is the essential symptom.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
Here they are seldom abundant, but their constant presence is the most reliable urinary sign of the disease.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
The darkness, or rather the general misapprehension, which prevails on this subject, is a frightful source of disease and misery.
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley

British Dictionary definitions for Lyme disease

Lyme disease

/ (laɪm) /

noun

a disease of domestic animals and humans, caused by the spirochaete Borrelia burghdorferi and transmitted by ticks, and variously affecting the joints, heart, and brain

Word Origin for Lyme disease

C20: named after Lyme, Connecticut, the town where it was first identified in humans

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 Lyme disease

Lyme disease

[ līm ]

A disease caused by the bacterial spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi, transmitted by deer ticks and characterized initially by a bull's-eye-shaped rash followed by flu-like symptoms such as fever, joint pain, and headache. If untreated, it can result in chronic arthritis and neurologic or cardiac dysfunction. It is named after Lyme, Connecticut, where it was first reported.

Cultural definitions for Lyme disease

Lyme disease

[ (leyem) ]

An infection caused by a bacterium transmitted by the bite of a tick. If untreated, the disease can lead to, among other things, a serious form of chronic arthritis. Lyme disease is most prevalent in the wooded regions of the Northeast and the Middle West.