septic
Americanadjective
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Pathology.
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relating to, caused by, or affected by sepsis or infection.
Adequate and prompt antibiotic therapy is essential for a septic patient.
She was admitted to the hospital with septic shock.
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causing sepsis or infection.
If care is not taken, there is the potential for introducing septic agents through injection.
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relating to or designed for the treatment of sewage by anaerobic bacteria.
The rural property, just shy of three acres, is on a private well and septic system.
Contamination of the bay may be a result of insufficient septic drainfields or faulty sewer lines or pumping stations.
noun
adjective
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of, relating to, or caused by sepsis
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of, relating to, or caused by putrefaction
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of septic
First recorded in 1595–1605; from Latin sēpticus, from Greek sēptikós, from sēpt(ós) “rotted” (from sḗpein “to make rotten”; cf. sepsis ( def. )) + -ikos -ic
Compare meaning
How does septic compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Septic is connected to dangerous waste products. If your house is not connected to your town or city's sewer, your waste from drains and toilets goes into a septic tank. Derived from a Greek word meaning "rotten," septic can indicate that something is infected. When a hospital patient goes into "septic shock," it means that their body, wracked by an infection, is starting to fail. People in septic shock are victims of a condition called sepsis.
Vocabulary lists containing septic
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
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This Week in Words: December 22 - 28, 2018
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Song of Solomon
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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.
Lawsuits, countersuits and disputes are piling up over septic systems, property taxes, off-leash dogs and a growing list of community rules.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 2026
Decommissioning his old cesspool and buying the new septic tank already cost almost $10,000, he said, and installation and testing could easily triple that.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2026
The worst-case scenario, many said, would be fixing up their septic system to meet current requirements, and subsequently having to pay for the sewer line installation and connection later on.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2026
Residents have already described to the BBC how lorries could be seen delivering materials, including fencing and septic tanks, after sundown on Friday.
From BBC ● May 7, 2026
Maybe this wasn’t a snow day, or a free day, or a broken septic system like the one that had closed school for a whole week last year.
From "Nine, Ten: A September 11 Story" by Nora Raleigh Baskin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
