nosocomial

[ nos-uh-koh-mee-uhl ]

/ ˌnɒs əˈkoʊ mi əl /

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adjective

(of infections) contracted as a result of being hospitalized; hospital-acquired.

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Origin of nosocomial

1850–55; <New Latin nosocomi(um) hospital (<Late Greek nosokomeîon, equivalent to Greek noso-noso- + kom- (base with sense “care, attendance,” as in gērokómos caring for the old) + -eion suffix of location) + -al¹

Words nearby nosocomial

no sir, no skin off one's nose, no smoke without fire, there's, noso-, no soap, nosocomial, nosogenesis, nosogeography, nosography, nosology, no sooner said than done

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

How to use nosocomial in a sentence

Since that first patient, I have seen five other cases of nosocomial covid in the past four weeks.
Patients are getting infected with covid-19 in the hospital. It happened to one of mine and killed him.|Manoj Jain|January 2, 2021|Washington Post
As an infectious-disease doctor, I know nosocomial infections well.
Patients are getting infected with covid-19 in the hospital. It happened to one of mine and killed him.|Manoj Jain|January 2, 2021|Washington Post
My experience tells me that nosocomial covid-19 is rampant, and hospitals are not sounding the alarm.
Patients are getting infected with covid-19 in the hospital. It happened to one of mine and killed him.|Manoj Jain|January 2, 2021|Washington Post
I suspect the infection was transmitted by a staff member, much like other nosocomial infections.
Patients are getting infected with covid-19 in the hospital. It happened to one of mine and killed him.|Manoj Jain|January 2, 2021|Washington Post

British Dictionary definitions for nosocomial

nosocomial

/ (ˌnɒsəˈkəʊmɪəl) /

adjective

med originating in hospitalnosocomial disease

Word Origin for nosocomial

C19: New Latin nosocomialis, via Late Latin from Greek, from nosokomos one that tends the sick, from nosos (see noso-) + komein to tend

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