campylobacter

noun

cam·​pylo·​bac·​ter ˌkam-pi-lō-ˈbak-tər 

kam-ˌpi-lə-

: any of a genus (Campylobacter) of spirally curved motile gram-negative rod-shaped bacteria of which some are pathogenic in domestic animals and humans

Examples of campylobacter in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Some of the most common bugs that contaminate food include E. coli, salmonella, campylobacter, staphylococcus, listeria and norovirus. —Daryl Austin, USA TODAY, 15 Dec. 2024

While pasteurized milk goes through a heating process that kills harmful pathogens, raw milk is not pasteurized and can carry listeria, campylobacter, salmonella, E. coli and bird flu virus. —Jamie Gumbrecht, CNN, 11 Dec. 2024

Raw milk is not pasteurized and can can carry disease-causing pathogens such as listeria, campylobacter, salmonella, E. coli and bird flu virus. —Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 6 Dec. 2024

McAfee’s milk is highly regulated by the state of California, which performs frequent testing for food-illness pests such as campylobacter, cryptosporidium, E. coli, listeria, brucella and salmonella and other bacterial illnesses in his milk. —Susanne Rust, Los Angeles Times, 5 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Greek kampylos bent + New Latin bacterium; akin to Greek kampē bend — more at gambit

First Known Use

1964, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

campylobacter

noun

cam·​py·​lo·​bac·​ter ˈkam-pə-lō-ˌbak-tər 

1

capitalized : a genus of slender spirally curved rod bacteria of the family Spirillaceae that are gram-negative, microaerophilic, and motile with a characteristic motion resembling a corkscrew, that do not form spores, and that include forms formerly included in the genus Spirillum or Vibrio of which some are pathogenic for domestic animals or humans see helicobacter

2

: any bacterium of the genus Campylobacter