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noma

American  
[noh-muh] / ˈnoʊ mə /

noun

Pathology.

plural

nomas
  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

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.

"It is important that we are opening up to more than just 70 guests" at a time, Thomas Frebel, creative director of noma projects, told AFP.

From Barron's • Nov. 2, 2025

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

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

"To continue being noma, we must change. Therefore, dear guests and friends, we have some exciting news to share," the restaurant announced in an Instagram post on Monday.

From Salon • Jan. 9, 2023

You see, she’s only a noma de ploom which we uses when we wants to 147 rile somebody.

From The Coming of the Law by Seltzer, Charles Alden