community-acquired

adjective

variants or less commonly community-associated

of an infection

: acquired or arising in the general population : not acquired or arising in a hospital

community-acquired pneumonia

Word History

First Known Use

1969, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

community-acquired

adjective

of an infection

: acquired or arising in the general population : not acquired or arising in a hospital

Streptococcus pneumoniae is the most common cause of community-acquired pneumonia and the second most common cause of bacterial meningitis in the United States.

—Jay C. Butler et al., The Journal of the American Medical Association

While the CDC estimated that the majority of such infections occur in healthcare settings, nearly 14% were so-called community-acquired, meaning that they struck otherwise healthy people who weren't in a hospital.

—Laura Landro, The Wall Street Journal