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# septic

adjective (septic); noun (Australia, slang: a septic, septics)

«septic» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. (of a wound or body part) Infected with germs so it becomes red, swollen, painful and full of pus. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/septic/#m1)
2. A septic tank is an underground tank where waste from toilets is broken down by bacteria, used by homes not joined to the main sewers. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/septic/#m2)
3. (Australia, UK, slang) A septic is an American; it comes from rhyming slang «septic tank» = «Yank». It can sound mocking. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/septic/#m3)

### In the lessons

In health lessons «go septic» warns pupils to clean cuts and splinters; in science and geography septic tanks show how countryside homes deal with waste. In Australian talk «a septic» or «seppo» is a jokey, sometimes rude word for an American. Phrases: «go septic», «a septic finger», «a septic tank».

### Examples

- Clean that cut, or it might go septic. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/septic/#x1)
- His toe went septic after he stood on a rusty nail. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/septic/#x2)
- The farmhouse has a septic tank instead of a sewer pipe. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/septic/#x3)
- A truck comes every few years to empty the septic tank. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/septic/#x4)
- The doctor gave her cream for a septic insect bite. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/septic/#x5)
- (Australia, slang) "Who's the bloke with the accent?" "Some septic on holiday." [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/septic/#x6)
- Wash your hands before you touch a blister so it doesn't turn septic. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/septic/#x7)

### Note

«Septic» goes with «sepsis». Opposite: «antiseptic» (stopping germs), as in antiseptic cream. Do not confuse with «sceptic» (UK spelling of skeptic, a doubter), which sounds like «SKEP-tic». The slang sense is not polite to say to an American.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «septic» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/septic/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«septic» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/septic.html) on Mova free.