sulfa drug

American  

noun

Pharmacology.

1. any of a group of drugs closely related in chemical structure to sulfanilamide, having a bacteriostatic rather than a bacteriocidal effect: used in the treatment of various wounds, burns, and infections.

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sulfa drug British  

/ ˈsʌlfə /

noun

1. any of a group of sulfonamide compounds that inhibit the activity of bacteria and are used in medicine to treat bacterial infections

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sulfa drug Scientific  

/ sŭl′fə /

1. See under sulfonamide

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Etymology

Origin of sulfa drug

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

Dr. Sonnabend pioneered and promoted the use of an inexpensive sulfa drug to prevent this pneumonia in people with H.I.V.

From New York Times • Jan. 30, 2021

A few weeks later, he was admitted to an Oxford University hospital and given doses of a sulfa drug for a week.

From Washington Post • Jul. 11, 2020

The ideal sulfa drug, they said, is still to seek.

From Time Magazine Archive

When a sulfa drug comes along, some ordinarily susceptible bacteria do not just lie down and take it.

From Time Magazine Archive

He may get an injection of blood plasma, collected by the Red Cross back home, may take tablets of an infection-preventing sulfa drug which he carries into battle with him.

From Time Magazine Archive

Related Words

• penicillin