Definitions for Antibacterialˌæn ti bækˈtɪər i əl, ˌæn taɪ-

This page provides all possible meanings and translations of the word Antibacterial

Princeton's WordNet

  1. antibacterial, antibacterial drug, bactericide(adj)

    any drug that destroys bacteria or inhibits their growth

  2. antibacterial(adj)

    destroying bacteria or inhibiting their growth


  1. Antibacterial(n.)

    a chemical substance which kills or inhibits the growth of bacteria.


  1. antibacterial(Noun)

    A drug having the effect of killing or inhibiting bacteria.

    Many household products contain antibacterials.

  2. antibacterial(Adjective)

    Killing or inhibiting bacteria

    This drug has an antibacterial effect.


  1. Antibacterial

    An antibacterial is an agent that inhibits bacterial growth or kills bacteria. The term is often used synonymously with the term antibiotic. Today, however, with increased knowledge of the causative agents of various infectious diseases, antibiotic has come to denote a broader range of antimicrobial compounds, including anti-fungal and other compounds. The term antibiotic was first used in 1942 by Selman Waksman and his collaborators in journal articles to describe any substance produced by a microorganism that is antagonistic to the growth of other microorganisms in high dilution. This definition excluded substances that kill bacteria, but are not produced by microorganisms. It also excluded synthetic antibacterial compounds such as the sulfonamides. Many antibacterial compounds are relatively small molecules with a molecular weight of less than 2000 atomic mass units. With advances in medicinal chemistry, most of today's antibacterials chemically are semisynthetic modifications of various natural compounds. These include, for example, the beta-lactam antibacterials, which include the penicillins, the cephalosporins, and the carbapenems. Compounds that are still isolated from living organisms are the aminoglycosides, whereas other antibacterials—for example, the sulfonamides, the quinolones, and the oxazolidinones—are produced solely by chemical synthesis. In accordance with this, many antibacterial compounds are classified on the basis of chemical/biosynthetic origin into natural, semisynthetic, and synthetic. Another classification system is based on biological activity; in this classification, antibacterials are divided into two broad groups according to their biological effect on microorganisms: bactericidal agents kill bacteria, and bacteriostatic agents slow down or stall bacterial growth.

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