tetracycline

[ te-truh-sahy-kleen, -klin ]
See synonyms for tetracycline on Thesaurus.com
nounPharmacology.
  1. an antibiotic, C22H24H2O8, derived from chlortetracycline, used in medicine to treat a broad variety of infections.

Origin of tetracycline

1
First recorded in 1950–55; tetra- + cycl- + -ine2

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for tetracycline

tetracycline

/ (ˌtɛtrəˈsaɪklaɪn, -klɪn) /


noun
  1. an antibiotic synthesized from chlortetracycline or derived from the bacterium Streptomyces viridifaciens: used in treating rickettsial infections and various bacterial infections. Formula: C 22 H 24 N 2 O 8

Origin of tetracycline

1
C20: from tetra- + cycl (ic) + -ine ²

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for tetracycline

tetracycline

[ tĕt′rə-sīklēn′, -klĭn ]


  1. A yellow crystalline compound, C22H24N2O8, synthesized or derived from several bacterial species of the genus Streptomyces and used as an antibiotic in bacterial infections. Other drugs of the tetracycline class have a similar chemical structure.

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