vancomycin

American

[vang-kuh-mahy-sin, van-] / ˌvæŋ kəˈmaɪ sɪn, ˌvæn- /

noun

Pharmacology.

a bactericidal antibiotic, C 66 H 75 ClN 9 O 24 , produced by Streptomyces orientalis, used in the treatment of antibiotic-associated colitis and endocarditis.

vancomycin British

/ ˌvænkəʊˈmaɪsɪn /

noun

an antibiotic effective against most Gram-positive organisms. It is given by intravenous infusions for serious infections that are resistant to other antibiotics

"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 vancomycin

First recorded in 1956; vanco- (of unexplained origin) + -mycin

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.

The drug is designed as a more powerful and efficient version of the widely used antibiotic vancomycin.

From Science Daily • Mar. 11, 2026

Among them were rifampicin, vancomycin, and ciprofloxacin, medications used to treat conditions such as tuberculosis, colitis, and UTIs.

From Science Daily • Feb. 21, 2026

Since vancomycin is often a "last-resort" treatment for these infections, this result is a particularly hopeful sign for addressing VRE, which the WHO lists as a high-priority pathogen.

From Science Daily • Oct. 29, 2025

"Understanding the structure of the outer membrane when Salmonella is in a macrophage can help us understand what will affect its sensitivity to drugs and our results with vancomycin is consistent with that."

From Science Daily • Jan. 13, 2024

They observed that mutants that lacked both the Bam and TamAB complexes were sensitive to vancomycin.

From Science Daily • Jan. 13, 2024

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