septicaemia

British

/ ˌsɛptɪˈsiːmɪə /

noun

Nontechnical name: blood poisoning. a condition caused by pus-forming microorganisms in the blood See also bacteraemia pyaemia

"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

Other Word Forms

septicaemic

adjective

Etymology

Origin of septicaemia

C19: from New Latin, from Greek sēptik ( os ) _septic + _-aemia

Example Sentences

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See Examples For:

septicaemia

Meningococcal bacteria causes most childhood cases of bacterial meningitis and septicaemia in the UK and Ireland.

From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026

Meningococcal septicaemia, where patients become seriously ill with blood poisoning and inflammation of the brain, is classed as an urgent notifiable disease.

From BBC ● Mar. 17, 2026

The deaths of 25 elephants in neighbouring Zimbabwe from septicaemia in the same year cast some doubt on algal toxins being the reason for the Botswana deaths.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 29, 2024

Although very rare, life-threatening systemic infections such as septicaemia may arise.

From Science Daily ● May 8, 2024

If the foetus putrefies it causes fatal septicaemia in the mother, or a perforating abscess, unless it is successfully removed.

From Essays In Pastoral Medicine by Austin ?Malley

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023