BIOLOGICAL WEAPON

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does biological weapon mean? 

• BIOLOGICAL WEAPON (noun)
  The noun BIOLOGICAL WEAPON has 1 sense:

1. any weapon usable in biological warfare

  Familiarity information: BIOLOGICAL WEAPON used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BIOLOGICAL WEAPON (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any weapon usable in biological warfare

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

bioarm; biological weapon; bioweapon

Context example:

they feared use of the smallpox virus as a bioweapon

Hypernyms ("biological weapon" is a kind of...):

W.M.D.; weapon of mass destruction; WMD (a weapon that kills or injures civilian as well as military personnel (nuclear and chemical and biological weapons))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "biological weapon"):

anthrax bacillus; Bacillus anthracis (a species of bacillus that causes anthrax in humans and in animals (cattle and swine and sheep and rabbits and mice and guinea pigs); can be used a bioweapon)

clostridium perfringens (anaerobic Gram-positive rod bacterium that produces epsilon toxin; can be used as a bioweapon)

aflatoxin (a potent carcinogen from the fungus Aspergillus; can be produced and stored for use as a bioweapon)

botulin; botulinus toxin; botulismotoxin (potent bacterial toxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum that causes botulism; can be used as a bioweapon)

SEB; staphylococcal enterotoxin B (a form of staphylococcal enterotoxin that has been used as an incapacitating agent in biological warfare)

 Context examples 

B mallei is found in contaminated soil, causes Glanders disease in horses, mules, donkeys, and humans, and has been developed and used as a biological weapon by the Germans, Russians and Japanese.

(Burkholderia mallei, NCI Thesaurus)

The potency of botulinum toxin has also caused concern that it could be used as a biological weapon, creating interest in the identification of inhibitors of this toxin.

(Botulin Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

B. anthracis is found in most soil, causes Anthrax in humans and animals, has been utilized as a biological weapon and both a veterinary and human vaccine exists.

(Bacillus anthracis, NCI Thesaurus)