a disease, esp. of young menstruating women using highly absorbent tampons, characterized by fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and, often, shock and caused by a toxin-releasing bacterium (Staphylococcus aureus)
See toxic shock syndrome in American Heritage Dictionary 4
noun Abbr. TSS
An acute infection characterized by high fever, a sunburnlike rash, vomiting, and diarrhea, followed in severe cases by shock, that is caused by a toxin-producing strain of the common bacterium Staphylococcus aureus, occurring chiefly among young menstruating women who use vaginal tampons.