ratbite fever

[ rat-bahyt ]

/ ˈrætˌbaɪt /

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noun Pathology.

either of two relapsing febrile diseases, widely distributed geographically, caused by infection with Streptobacillus moniliformis or Spirillum minor and transmitted by rats.

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Origin of ratbite fever

First recorded in 1905–10; rat + bite

Words nearby ratbite fever

rat-a-tat, rat-a-tat-tat, ratatouille, ratbag, ratbaggery, ratbite fever, ratcatcher, ratch, rat cheese, ratchet, ratchet effect

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

How to use ratbite fever in a sentence

Besides, victory fever had spread like wildfire throughout the Allied armies.
Hitler’s Hail Mary|James A. Warren|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The sets—which, really, were a feat of design and direction—appeared to be remnants of a Lewis Carroll fever dream.
‘Peter Pan Live!’ Review: No Amount of Clapping Brings It to Life|Kevin Fallon|December 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Future lives, careers and attitudes were being determined in this lightly regulated fever.
The Castration of Alan Turing, Britain’s Code-Breaking WWII Hero|Clive Irving|November 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Spirits in Stanleyville were high, and a local 19-year-old was emboldened by independence fever.
‘Argo’ in the Congo: The Ghosts of the Stanleyville Hostage Crisis|Nina Strochlic|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Take Too Many Cooks: a fever dream of a segment that aired at 4:00am earlier this week.
Jimmy Kimmel Pranks Kids (Again), Taylor Swift’s 1989 Aerobics, and More Viral Videos|The Daily Beast Video|November 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Day by day these fretting anxieties and perplexities wasted her strength, and her fever grew higher and higher.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
Père Bracasse was ill, suffering from rheumatism, bronchitis, fever and corns.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol|William J. Locke
When Stanhope entered to him, he found his guest lying on a sofa, in a high state of fever, both from his wounds and agitation.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter
If the fever ends by crisis, the crisis is accompanied by a rapid and striking increase.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
The spirillum of relapsing fever can be identified by the method for the malarial parasite in fresh blood.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd

British Dictionary definitions for ratbite fever

ratbite fever

ratbite disease

/ (ˈrætˌbaɪt) /

noun

pathol an acute infectious febrile disease caused by the bite of a rat infected with either of two pathogenic bacteria (Streptobacillus moniliformis or Spirillum minus)

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