tubercle bacillus

American

noun

the bacterium, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, causing tuberculosis.

tubercle bacillus British

noun

a rodlike Gram-positive bacterium, Mycobacterium tuberculosis , that causes tuberculosis: family Mycobacteriaceae

"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

Etymology

Origin of tubercle bacillus

First recorded in 1895–1900

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.

Robert Koch’s discovery of the contagious tubercle bacillus in 1882 gave rise to the sanatorium movement in Europe and the United States.

From Slate • Apr. 19, 2020

The spit would have to contain the tubercle bacillus and dry out of sunlight, which kills the bacteria.

From BBC • Apr. 20, 2011

The tubercle bacillus is the one essential factor in tuberculosis, but mil lions of people carry the bacillus without ever developing the disease.

From Time Magazine Archive

The tubercle bacillus does not stain easily, but when it does, it clings tenaciously to the dye, in spite of immersion in alcohol and strong acids, and for this reason is called " acid-fast."

From Time Magazine Archive

The present comparative rarity of tuberculosis results in large measure from the fact that the average person now seldom comes into contact with the tubercle bacillus.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

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