Botulinum

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An anaerobic soil bacterium, Clostridium botulinum, that secretes the toxin botulin uncountable
  2. 2
    anaerobic bacterium producing botulin the toxin that causes botulism wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
botulinusbotulinusclostridium botulinum

Example

More examples

"Botox's appeal as a skin enhancer was discovered by chance. Doctors knew that botulinum bacteria kill by paralyzing the diaphragm and preventing victims from breathing. The toxin the bacteria produce, botulin, blocks brain messages to muscles."

Etymology

From Latin botulus (“sausage”).

Related phrases

botulinum toxinclostridium botulinum

More for "botulinum"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.