transmissible spongiform encephalopathy

American

noun

any of several encephalopathies, including bovine spongiform encephalopathy, scrapie, and kuru, characterized by spongy degeneration of brain tissue and believed to result from the ingestion of a toxic protein or virus.

transmissible spongiform encephalopathy British

noun

the full name for TSE

"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

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.

CWD is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, another of which did jump species: mad cow disease.

From Washington Post

It is among a class of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, or TSE.

From New York Times

Last July four of the animals developed transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, a class of diseases that includes mad cow.

From Time Magazine Archive

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