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antibiotic drug

antibiotic drug

3.0
A medicine that kills or stops the growth of bacteria to treat infections
  • noun
  • /ˌæntɪbaɪˈɑtɪk drʌg/
  • Specialized
translation icon : antibiótico
  • It's important to complete the course of your antibiotic drug even if you start feeling better.

Examples

  • After taking the antibiotic drug, he noticed an improvement in his symptoms within a few days.

  • A recent multidisciplinary report concluded that "the basic answer to the question of human health consequences of antibiotic drug use in food animals is still not known for certain."

    Academic text (2000)
  • It is classified as a fluoroquinolone antibiotic drug.

    Blog text (23)
  • Some pathogens are even being injected with genes to make them resistant to antibiotic drugs.

    Academic text (2007)
  • One experimental antibiotic drug, evaluating these routines periodically, can often improve patients.

    Blog text (6)
  • The results were compared with the standard antibiotic drugs (Fig. 2A) whose zones of inhibition have been given in Table 5.

    Academic text (2014)
  • Chart review showed a significant postoperative reduction in the number of clinic visits and in the use of antibiotic drugs after insertion of tympanostomy tubes.

    Academic text (2005)
  • 2002: Was victorious in appeals of two lawsuits defending Bayer's patent on the antibiotic drug Cipro.

    Academic text (2009)
  • In contrast, patients with obesity were younger, had a lower frequency of smoking, and lower use of several types of drugs, including antibiotic drugs and inhalants for obstructive airway diseases, but many more risk factors.

    Academic text (2018)
  • The doctor prescribed an antibiotic drug to treat her bacterial infection.

Synonyms

medication
vsantibiotic drug
588 2.7

A medicine you take to treat or prevent illness

is specific to drugs that target and treat bacterial infections
antibiotic
vsantibiotic drug
  • Specialized
237 2.9

A medicine that kills or stops bacteria to cure infections

is the same but names it explicitly as a medical drug
antibacterial
vsantibiotic drug
  • Specialized
1 3.8

A medicine or substance that kills bacteria and stops their growth

is used specifically to treat bacterial infections as medical therapy
antibacterial drug
vsantibiotic drug
  • Specialized
3.0

A medicine that kills bacteria or stops their growth

often comes from microorganisms and is considered naturally derived
bactericide
vsantibiotic drug
  • Specialized
6.3

A chemical that kills bacteria or stops them growing

is intended as a medical treatment to cure bacterial infections

How Effective

ampicillin
  • Specialized
3 3.7
antibiotic drug
  • Specialized
3.0
antibacterial drug
  • Specialized
3.0

Surface Forms

Morphology

antibiotic + drug

The meaning is directly compositional: 'antibiotic' denotes a substance that kills or inhibits bacteria and 'drug' denotes a medicinal chemical, so together they clearly refer to a medicine for bacterial infections. This straightforward noun-noun combination is cross-linguistically common and therefore a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Antibiotic drug comes from the parts anti (meaning 'against') and biotic (from a word for 'life'). One popular story says Alexander Fleming found mould on a plate that made a clear ring where bacteria had died. So antibiotic drug means a medicine that fights bacteria, 'to kill or stop bacteria'.