antibiotic
n. countable B2 Upper Intermediate US //ˌæntaɪbaɪˈɑtɪk// UK //ˌæntɪbaɪˈɒtɪk// an·tibi·ot·ic
n. a medicine that kills bacteria or stops them from growing. You take it when you have a bacterial infection, not a virus.
n. a substance produced by or derived from microorganisms that inhibits the growth of or destroys other microorganisms, particularly bacteria.
The doctor prescribed an antibiotic for my sore throat.
She finished the entire course of antibiotics to ensure the infection did not return.
The overuse of broad-spectrum antibiotics in modern agriculture has accelerated the development of drug-resistant bacterial strains, posing a significant challenge to global public health systems.
Borrowed from French antibiotique; by surface analysis, anti- + -biotic.