bronchitis

noun

bron·​chi·​tis brän-ˈkī-təs 

bräŋ-

: acute or chronic inflammation of the bronchial tubes

also : a disease marked by this

bronchitic

brän-ˈki-tik 

bräŋ-

adjective

Did you know?

The bronchial tubes carry air into the tiny branches and smaller cells of the lungs. In bronchitis, the tubes become sore and you develop a deep cough. Bronchitis caused by bacteria can be treated with antibiotics, but there's no drug treatment for the more common kind caused by a virus. A bout of bronchitis may involve a couple of weeks of coughing (with no laughing allowed), weakness, and loss of energy and interest in doing things. Apart from that, bronchitis is rarely serious—at least if it doesn't progress to pneumonia.

Examples of bronchitis in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Infants Ashley and Allison, both of whom are U.S. citizens born in Houston, have been enduring pneumonia and bronchitis, often needing oxygen masks to breathe, since arriving to Mexico, Salazar-Hinojosa, 23, told Noticias Telemundo in Spanish. —Suzanne Gamboa, NBC News, 19 Dec. 2024

Hickey died at the age of 69 in 1997 from emphysema and bronchitis. —Madeline Boardman, EW.com, 16 Dec. 2024

The cancellation is the third in just as many months, coming after an Oct. 8 postponement due to an undisclosed injury (since deleted from Instagram) and Oct. 22 rescheduling of recent shows as a result of bronchitis and laryngitis. —Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 30 Nov. 2024

Common examples include extremely high fevers and bronchitis, which may turn into pneumonia.1 The flu may also raise your risk of late pregnancy loss, which is typically defined as occurring during the second trimester or later. —Laura Dorwart, Verywell Health, 24 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Late Latin bronchium "branch of a bronchus, bronchial tube" + -itis — more at bronchial

Note: The term bronchitis was apparently introduced into English by the British physician Charles Badham (1780-1845) in Observations on the Inflammatory Affections of the Mucous Membrane of the Bronchiæ (London: Callow, 1808), though the word had been used earlier (as a Latinate synonym of Luftröhrenästentzündung) by the German physician Johann Christian Stark (1753-1811) in Handbuch zur Kenntnis und Heilung innerer Krankheiten des menschlichen Körpers (Jena, 1799), pp. 144, 167.

First Known Use

1808, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

bronchitis

noun

bron·​chi·​tis brän-ˈkīt-əs 

bräŋ-

: inflammation of the bronchial tubes or a disease marked by this

Medical Definition

bronchitis

noun

bron·​chi·​tis brän-ˈkīt-əs, bräŋ- 

: acute or chronic inflammation of the bronchial tubes

also : a disease marked by this

bronchitic

-ˈkit-ik 

adjective