What does "penicillin" mean?

Any of a group of narrow-spectrum antibiotics obtained from Penicillium molds or synthesized, that have a beta-lactam structure and are active against gram-positive bacteria and used in the treatment of various infections and diseases.

How do you pronounce "penicillin"?

Pronounced //ˌpɛn.ɪˈsɪl.ɪn//.

Penicillin

Q: What is a synonym for "penicillin"?

Common synonyms include: actinomycin, amphotericin, antibiotic, bacitracin, carbomycin, chloromycetin.

//ˌpɛn.ɪˈsɪl.ɪn// noun

noun ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun

1
Any of a group of narrow-spectrum antibiotics obtained from Penicillium molds or synthesized, that have a beta-lactam structure and are active against gram-positive bacteria and used in the treatment of various infections and diseases. countable, uncountable
2
any of various antibiotics obtained from Penicillium molds (or produced synthetically) and used in the treatment of various infections and diseases wordnet
3
A blue mold of the genus Penicillium that produces penicillin. countable, uncountable

Synonyms

All synonyms

actinomycin amphotericin antibiotic bacitracin carbomycin chloromycetin

Antonyms

All antonyms

antibiotic first first antibiotic

Example

More examples

"Penicillin has contributed much to the welfare of mankind."

Etymology

From translingual Penicillium + -in. Coined by Alexander Fleming after Penicillium notatum (now Penicillium chrysogenum), a fungus from which penicillin is obtained.

More for "penicillin"

Synonyms Sentences Pronunciation Translate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonyms See usage examples Check pronunciation Browse writing guides

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