nosocomial

[ nos-uh-koh-mee-uhl ]

/ ˌnɒs əˈkoʊ mi əl /

Save This Word!

adjective

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

QUIZZES

QUIZ YOURSELF ON THE 12 TYPES OF VERB TENSES!

Loosen up your grammar muscles because it’s time to test your knowledge on verb tenses!

Question 1 of 6

The verb tenses can be split into which 3 primary categories?

action, linking, and helping

dynamic, static, and auxiliary

past, present, and future

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar Coach

Improve Your Writing

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, nosogenic, nosogeography, nosography, nosology

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use nosocomial in a sentence

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
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
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
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

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

Medical definitions for nosocomial

nosocomial

[ nŏs′ə-kō′mē-əl ]

adj.

Of or relating to a hospital.

Of or being a secondary disorder associated with being treated in a hospital but unrelated to the patient's primary condition.