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noma

American  
[noh-muh] / ˈnoʊ mə /

noun

Pathology.
nomas plural
  1. a gangrenous ulceration of the mouth or genitalia, occurring mainly in debilitated children.


noma British  
/ ˈnəʊmə /

noun

  1. a gangrenous inflammation of the mouth, esp one affecting malnourished children

"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

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of noma

1825–35; < New Latin, Latin nomē a sore, ulcer < Greek nomḗ a feeding, grazing (akin to némein to feed, graze, consume)

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:

The new venture is "exciting" and "I feel like they're making noma more accessible," Stephen Velasco, an American who has ben living in Copenhagen for 32 years, told AFP.

From Barron's Nov. 2, 2025

In early 2026, noma will relocate to Los Angeles for a few months.

From Barron's Nov. 2, 2025

WHO’s listing comes after years of advocacy to raise awareness about the disease, including a January request from Nigeria and 32 other countries with significant numbers of noma cases.

From Science Magazine Dec. 20, 2023

"Winter 2024 will be the last season of noma as we know it. We are beginning a new chapter; noma 3.0."

From Salon Jan. 9, 2023

"Come si noma questa isola?"—"What is the name of this island?"

From A Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Verne, Jules

Out of that comes nomas, a member of a wandering pastoral tribe.

From New York Times Oct. 14, 2022

Kiel vi nomas tion? kee'ehl vee no'mahss tee'ohn?

From Esperanto Self-Taught with Phonetic Pronunciation by Mann, William W.

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