antibacterial

B2 Topic:Describing Qualities

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

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

antibacterial drug
a medicine that kills bacteria or prevents them from multiplying

Adjective + noun

Etymology

From anti- + bacterial.

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# 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
- Describing Qualities

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