meningococcus

[ muh-ning-goh-kok-uhs ]

noun,plural me·nin·go·coc·ci [muh-ning-goh-kok-sahy, -see]. /məˌnɪŋ goʊˈkɒk saɪ, -si/.
  1. a reniform or spherical bacterium, Neisseria meningitidis, that causes cerebrospinal meningitis.

Origin of meningococcus

1
From New Latin, dating back to 1890–95; see origin at meninges, -o-, coccus

Other words from meningococcus

  • me·nin·go·coc·cal, me·nin·go·coc·cic [muh-ning-goh-kok-ik, -kok-sik], /məˌnɪŋ goʊˈkɒk ɪk, -ˈkɒk sɪk/, adjective

Words Nearby meningococcus

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use meningococcus in a sentence

  • The meningococcus and the virus of poliomyelitis pass from the nose into the cranial cavity without local lesions in the former.

    The Fundamentals of Bacteriology | Charles Bradfield Morrey

British Dictionary definitions for meningococcus

meningococcus

/ (mɛˌnɪŋɡəʊˈkɒkəs) /


nounplural -cocci (-ˈkɒkaɪ)
  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