a disease of domestic animals and humans, caused by the spirochaete Borrelia burghdorferi and transmitted by ticks, and variously affecting the joints, heart, and brain
Word origin
C20: named after Lyme, Connecticut, the town where it was first identified in humans
Lyme disease in American English
(laɪm)
an acute, recurrent, inflammatory disease caused by a spirochete (Borrelia burgdorferi) transmitted by certain ticks (esp. Ixodes dammini), characterized at first by a skin rash, headache, fever, etc. and later by arthritis, neurological damage, and cardiac abnormalities
Examples of 'Lyme disease' in a sentence
Lyme disease
Lyme disease is spread from ticks to human beings through tick bites.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Lyme disease is a bacterial infection which spreads to humans through ticks.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
This could direct health departments to spray infected areas long before Lyme disease becomes a threat to humans.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
The animals can be infected with deadly Lyme disease, which hits the nervous system.
The Sun (2009)
Rarely, they can pass on nasty illnesses such as Lyme disease.