1. An infectious, usually fatal disease of warm-blooded animals, especially of cattle and sheep, caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. The disease can be transmitted to humans through contact with contaminated animal substances, such as hair, feces, or hides, and is characterized by ulcerative skin lesions.
2. pl., -thra·ces (-thrə-sēz'). A lesion caused by anthrax.

[Middle English antrax, malignant boil, from Latin anthrax, carbuncle, from Greek.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.