a semisynthetic penicillin used to treat various infections
methicillin in American English
(ˌmeθəˈsɪlɪn)
noun
Pharmacology
a semisynthetic penicillin antibiotic, C17H19N2NaO6S, used principally in the treatment of severe, penicillin-resistant staphylococci infections
Word origin
[1960–65; meth(yl) + (pen)icillin]This word is first recorded in the period 1960–65. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: bicycle kick, deinstitutionalize, disco, go-go, parvovirus
Examples of 'methicillin' in a sentence
methicillin
This was stopped in its tracks by the introduction of methicillin in the 1960s.