antibacterial B2 Topic:Health & Medicine US /ˌæntiːbækˈtɪriːəl/ See IPA manual Freq #54773 Meanings 1 adj Killing bacteria or stopping them from growing. She washed the cut with an antibacterial soap. 2 noun A substance or drug that kills bacteria or stops them from growing. Many household cleaners contain antibacterials. Thesaurus Synonyms 2 noun · a substance or drug that... antibacterial drugbactericide Word family Forms antibacterials Derived forms antibacteriallynonantibacterial Common collocations antibacterial drug Adjective + noun Etymology AI details From anti- + bacterial. Topics Health & Medicine External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # antibacterial **Type:** Word **Level:** B2 **Part of speech:** adj, noun **IPA (US):** /ˌæntiːbækˈtɪriːəl/ **Frequency rank:** 54773 ## Meanings 1. Killing bacteria or stopping them from growing. 2. A substance or drug that kills bacteria or stops them from growing. ## Examples - She washed the cut with an antibacterial soap. - Many household cleaners contain antibacterials. ## Derived Forms - antibacterially - nonantibacterial ## Etymology From anti- + bacterial. ## AI Etymology Antibacterial is from anti- plus bacterial. The prefix anti- supplies the oppositional force, so the compound names something directed against, preventing, or countering the condition named by the base rather than a new unrelated object. In use as an adjective and a noun, antibacterial denotes killing bacteria or stopping them from growing and a substance or drug that kills bacteria or stops them from growing. The same word family continues in derived forms such as antibacterially and nonantibacterial. ## Topics - Health & Medicine markdown