Word family noun infection disinfectant adjective infectious infected verb infect ≠ disinfect adverb infectiously
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishinfectionin‧fec‧tion /ɪnˈfekʃən/ ●●○ W3 noun 1 [countable]MIMH a disease that affects a particular part of your body and is caused by bacteria or a virus The baby had an ear infection.infection of/in an infection of the bladder► see thesaurus at illness2 MI[uncountable] when someone is infected by a disease Always sterilize the needle to prevent infection.COLLOCATIONSverbshave an infectionI think you’ve got an infection, so you need to rest.suffer from an infectionHe was suffering from an infection of the lungs.get/develop an infectionShe got a nasty throat infection which meant she couldn’t sing.treat an infectionAntibiotics are used to treat the infection.fight/combat an infectionA new drug is being developed to combat the infection.spread an infection (also transmit an infection formal)Pregnant women can transmit the infection to their unborn child.an infection spreadsThe infection spread to her chest.an infection clears up (=goes away)Although the infection cleared up, he still felt weak.be exposed to an infectionHe was exposed to the infection while he was travelling in India.ADJECTIVES/NOUN + infectionserious/severeHe was admitted to hospital with a serious infection.slight/minor (=not serious)She’s suffering from a slight infection.nasty informal (=a serious infection)He’s got a really nasty infection.acute medical (=a serious infection that develops suddenly)The disease usually occurs as an acute infection of the throat.an ear/eye infectionShe was given antibiotics for an ear infection.a chest infection (=an infection in the lungs)I’ve got a bad cough, but the doctor says it isn’t a chest infection.a throat/kidney etc infectionHe developed a severe throat infection.a bacterial/viral/fungal infection (=caused by bacteria, a virus, or a fungus)Antibiotics are not effective against viral infections.a secondary infection medical (=an additional infection that happens as a result of the main illness)Often, scratching the skin because it is itchy results in secondary infection.phrasesthe source of an infectionDoctors are trying to locate the source of the infection.Examples from the Corpus
infection• If you don't clean the wound properly you could get an infection.• Diseases and infections were spread through poor sanitary conditions and efforts were slowly made to combat this.• I then got a bad infection in my left eye which my doctor suggested was due to the contact lens.• Men have brought infection home to their wives, and the disease has penetrated the entire society.• The principal clinical signs in heavy infections are rapid weight loss and diarrhoea.• Maternal infection can result in fetal infection and damage and is estimated to occur in 0-1-0-5% of pregnancies in the United Kingdom.• The antibiotic ointment will prevent infection.• If the infection is unchecked, peritonitis may follow and gonorrhoea becomes a life-threatening emergency.• Rheumatic fever as a child, so the infection settled there, on the weakest spot.• Roz was suffering from a throat infection and could hardly talk.• Secondly they act on E coli, bacteria responsible for the vast majority of urine infections. 