typhoid fever


noun
  1. an acute infectious disease characterized by high fever, rose-coloured spots on the chest or abdomen, abdominal pain, and occasionally intestinal bleeding. It is caused by the bacillus Salmonella typhosa ingested with food or water: Also called: enteric fever

Origin of typhoid fever

1
C19: from typhus + -oid; so called because the symptoms resemble those of typhus

Words Nearby typhoid fever

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How to use typhoid fever in a sentence

Scientific definitions for typhoid fever

typhoid fever

[ foid′ ]


  1. A life-threatening infectious disease caused by the bacterium Salmonella typhi and transmitted through contaminated food and water. It is characterized by high fever, intestinal bleeding, diarrhea, and skin rash.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for typhoid fever

typhoid fever

[ (teye-foyd) ]


An acute and highly contagious disease transmitted by food or water contaminated with a kind of bacterium. The disease, which is often fatal, is characterized by high fever, pain in the abdomen, and bleeding in the intestines.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.