chlamydia
noun
chla·myd·ia
| \ klə-ˈmi-dē-ə
\
\
plural chlamydiae\ klə-ˈmi-dē-ˌē
\
\
Definition of chlamydia
1
: any of a genus (Chlamydia, family Chlamydiaceae) of spherical gram-negative intracellular bacteria
especially
: one (C. trachomatis) that causes or is associated with various diseases of the eye and urogenital tract including trachoma, lymphogranuloma venereum, cervicitis, and some forms of urethritis
2
: a disease or infection caused by chlamydiae
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Other Words from chlamydia
chlamydial
\ klə-ˈmi-dē-əl
\
adjective
\
adjective
Examples of chlamydia in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
But despite its prevalence, chlamydia can be difficult to diagnose because many people do not show symptoms. — Jamie Ducharme, Time, "There Could Be a Chlamydia Vaccine In the Coming Years, A Promising New Study Suggests," 13 Aug. 2019 The species has been ravaged by climate change, deforestation and chlamydia. — Fox News, "Adorable orphaned baby koala gets arm cast after falling from tree," 9 Aug. 2019 Nationwide, chlamydia increased 22 percent and gonorrhea increased 67 percent from 2013 to 2017, according to the CDC website. — Tess Vrbin, courant.com, "No awkward conversations: Department of Public Health promotes confidential notification service, aiming to reduce spread of STDs," 19 June 2019 Consider getting tested for STIs like chlamydia, syphilis, and gonorrhea. — Carolyn Twersky, Seventeen, "Here's What to Do If Your Condom Breaks During Sex," 7 June 2019 Gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis are all curable and HIV can be prevented by taking daily PrEP. — SELF, "Here's Why Sexually Transmitted Infection Rates Are So High, According to STI Experts," 8 Jan. 2019 Those 12 men then took a cocktail of different antibiotics used for a range of conditions from drug-resistant bacterial meningitis to chlamydia. — Cathleen O'grady, Ars Technica, "Gut bacteria recover from antibiotics, but they may take six months," 28 Oct. 2018 This is a meaningful discovery for koala conservationists, since chlamydia has proved to be a significant challenge for the koala population, especially in northern Australia. — Deborah Netburn, latimes.com, "The koalas are threatened. Can their genome help us save them?," 2 July 2018 Recently released data from the California Department of Public Health show a 45 percent increase in cases of gonorrhea, syphilis and chlamydia in the state compared with rates five years prior. — Hannah Holzer, sacbee, "STD rates rise in Sacramento County, following statewide, nationwide trends," 2 July 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'chlamydia.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for chlamydia
chlamydia
noun
chla·myd·ia
| \ klə-ˈmid-ē-ə
\
\
Medical Definition of chlamydia
1
capitalized
: the type genus of the family Chlamydiaceae comprising coccoid to spherical gram-negative intracellular parasitic bacteria and including one (C. trachomatis) that causes or is associated with various diseases of the eye and genitourinary tract including trachoma, lymphogranuloma venereum, cervicitis, and some forms of nongonococcal urethritis
2
plural chlamydiae\ -ē-ˌē, -ˌī
\
also chlamydias
a
: a bacterium of the genus Chlamydia
b
: an infection or disease caused by a bacterium of the genus Chlamydia
Other Words from chlamydia
chlamydial
\ -ē-əl
\
adjective
\
adjective