blackleg Hear it!

blackleg definition

black·leg (-leg′)

noun

  1. an acute, usually fatal, infectious disease of young cattle and sheep, caused by a bacterium (esp. Clostridium chauvoei) and characterized by swelling and blackening of infected muscle tissue
  2. a disease of beets and related plants caused by a fungus (Phoma betae)
  3. a disease of potatoes caused by a bacterium (Erwinia atroseptica)
  4. Informal a gambler who cheats
  5. Brit. a strikebreaker

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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