Real Dictionary

tetanus
uncountable noun: Tetanus is a serious painful disease caused by bacteria getting into wounds. It makes your muscles, especially your jaw muscles, go stiff.

tetanus in American English
an acute infectious disease, often fatal, caused by the specific toxin of a bacillus (Clostridium tetani) which usually enters the body through wounds: it is characterized by spasmodic contractions and rigidity of some or all of the voluntary muscles, esp
noun: an infectious, often fatal disease caused by a specific bacterium that enters the body through wounds and characterized by respiratory paralysis and tonic spasms and rigidity of the voluntary muscles, esp. those of the neck and lower jaw

tetanus in British English
noun: an acute infectious disease in which sustained muscular spasm, contraction, and convulsion are caused by the release of exotoxins from the bacterium, Clostridium tetani: infection usually occurs through a contaminated wound