superbug
nounEtymology From super- + bug.
1
Informal A strain of bacteria that is resistant to many antibiotics (e.g., MDR, XDR).
- But now we’re seeing increasing numbers of superbugs that survive antibiotics. One of the best-known [is] MRSA, a kind of staph infection [that] kills about 18,000 Americans annually. That’s more than die of AIDS.2010 March 7, Nicholas Kristof, “The Spread of Superbugs”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
2
Informal Any pathogen resistant to many, even all, of the biocides or other agents used to treat similar pathogens.
3
US An invasive insect, Bemisia tabaci, that is a major pest of vegetable crops, both directly and as a virus vector.
- Synonyms
- silverleaf whitefly
- Hyponyms
- super gonorrhea