Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

meningococcus

American  
[muh-ning-goh-kok-uhs] / məˌnɪŋ goʊˈkɒk əs /

noun

  • meningococci
    plural
  1. a reniform or spherical bacterium, Neisseria meningitidis, that causes cerebrospinal meningitis.


meningococcus British  
/ mɛˌnɪŋɡəʊˈkɒkəs /

noun

  1. the bacterium that causes cerebrospinal meningitis

"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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

Etymology

Origin of meningococcus

From New Latin, dating back to 1890–95; see origin at meninges, -o-, coccus

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.

See Examples For:

IHEs have long required vaccinations of students—for human papillomavirus, meningococcus and influenza, for example.

From Scientific American Aug. 5, 2021

Experts say it's important for these kids to receive all childhood vaccines plus pneumococcus and meningococcus vaccines to help fight possible infections.

From US News Jun. 23, 2016

However, all states and the District of Columbia require immunity to chickenpox; 47 states and D.C. require vaccination against hepatitis B; and 29 states and D.C. require it for meningococcus.

From New York Times Nov. 9, 2015

Finlay researchers produced the first vaccine for group B meningococcus.

From Forbes Sep. 12, 2014

The man who catches a meningococcus is in considerably less danger for his life, even without chemotherapy, than meningococci with the bad luck to catch a man.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas

There was a third and worse possibility: meningococci, which could kill Mary within an hour or two.

From Time Magazine Archive

The dosage was supposed to clean out transient meningococci, the microbes that cause this form of inflammation of the brain covering.

From Time Magazine Archive

Dr. Long and Dr. Eleanor Bliss, who collaborated with him throughout on streptococci, next applied Prontylin to the meningococci which cause spinal menngitis.

From Time Magazine Archive

Ten years ago Dr. Newell Simmons Ferry, whom Parke, Davis & Co. had hired from the University of Tennessee, began to hunt for a toxin which the meningococci might excrete.

From Time Magazine Archive

The man who catches a meningococcus is in considerably less danger for his life, even without chemotherapy, than meningococci with the bad luck to catch a man.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Join 12,000,000 vocabulary learners

Start learning new words today on VocabTrainer.
You'll remember them forever.

Start training