If you get food poisoning, you become ill because you have eaten food that has gone bad.
He had suffered a serious case of food poisoning over the Christmas holidays.
food poisoning in British English
noun
an acute illness typically characterized by gastrointestinal inflammation, vomiting, and diarrhoea, caused by food that is either naturally poisonous or contaminated by pathogenic bacteria (esp Salmonella)
food poisoning in American English
1.
the sickness resulting from eating food contaminated either by bacterial toxins or by certain bacteria, esp. salmonella, often causing vomiting, diarrhea, and prostration
2.
poisoning resulting from naturally poisonous foods, as certain mushrooms, or from chemical contaminants in food
Examples of 'food poisoning' in a sentence
food poisoning
Scared of robbers and vicious insects, of food poisoning, of ghosts.
O'Connor, Joe DESPERADOES (2002)
`You don't think it could be connected with the food poisoning he's had, do you?
Penn, John UNTO THE GRAVE (2002)
"All we need is for one of those people to wind up with food poisoning.
Isobel Bird CIRCLE OF THREE: BOOK 7: BLUE MOON (2002)
In other languages
food poisoning
British English: food poisoning /fuːd ˈpɔɪzənɪŋ/ NOUN
If you get food poisoning, you become ill because you have eaten food that has gone bad.
He had suffered a serious case of food poisoning while on holiday.