a communicable disease caused by infection with the tubercle bacillus, most frequently affecting the lungs (pulmonary tuberculosis)
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
tu•ber•cu•lo•sis /tʊˌbɜrkyəˈloʊsɪs, tyʊ-/USA pronunciation
n. [uncountable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025- Pathologyan infectious disease that usually affects the lungs, producing swelling.
tu•ber•cu•lo•sis
(tŏŏ bûr′kyə lō′sis, tyŏŏ-),USA pronunciation n. [Pathol.]
- Pathologyan infectious disease that may affect almost any tissue of the body, esp. the lungs, caused by the organism Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and characterized by tubercles.
- Pathologythis disease when affecting the lungs;
pulmonary phthisis;
consumption. - Pathologyany disease caused by a mycobacterium. Also called TB (for defs. 1, 2).
- Neo-Latin tūberculōsis; see tubercle, -osis
- 1855–60
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'tuberculosis' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
-osis
- BCG vaccine
- Mantoux test
- Pott's disease
- TB
- attested
- caseation
- cavern
- consumption
- consumptive
- decline
- dihydrostreptomycin
- ethambutol
- ethionamide
- grape
- haemoptysis
- hectic
- iproniazid
- isoniazid
- lunger
- lupus vulgaris
- miliary
- miliary tuberculosis
- mycobacterium
- night sweats
- notifiable
- paratuberculosis
- phthiocol
- phthisis
- pseudotuberculosis
- pulmonary tuberculosis
- pyrazinamide
- rifampin
- sanatorium
- scrofula
- streptomycin
- sulphone
- thoracoplasty
- tine test
- tubercle
- tubercle bacillus
- tubercular
- tuberculin
- tuberculin test
- tuberculin-tested
- tuberculoid
- tuberculous
- white plague