antimicrobial
Meaning of antimicrobial: An antimicrobial is any substance that kills or stops the growth of microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites.
Definition of antimicrobial
An antimicrobial is a substance that either kills microorganisms or stops them from growing and reproducing, thereby helping to prevent or treat infection. The broad category of antimicrobials includes several more specific types, such as antibiotics that act against bacteria, antivirals that act against viruses, antifungals that act against fungi, and antiparasitic agents that act against parasites.
Antimicrobials can work through many different mechanisms, including damaging a microorganism's outer membrane, interfering with its ability to build proteins, or blocking its ability to copy its own genetic material, and a given antimicrobial is generally effective against only certain types of microorganisms rather than all of them.
Antimicrobials are used both in direct medical treatment of infection and in other settings, including disinfecting surfaces and equipment, and resistance, in which a microorganism becomes less responsive to a particular antimicrobial over time, is an ongoing consideration in how these substances are used.
Used in a sentence
An antimicrobial ointment was applied to the wound to help prevent infection.
Good to know
An antimicrobial effective against one category of microorganism, such as bacteria, is not necessarily effective against another, such as viruses, a distinction that matters when identifying which type of antimicrobial is appropriate for a given infection.
Word origin
Where “antimicrobial” comes from
Formed from Greek anti-, meaning against, and mikros, meaning small, combined with bios, meaning life, the roots underlying the word microbe.