Protein synthesis inhibitor

A protein synthesis inhibitor is a substance that stops or slows the growth or proliferation of cells by disrupting the processes that lead directly to the generation of new proteins.

While a broad interpretation of this definition could be used to describe nearly any antibiotic, in practice, it usually refers to substances that act at the ribosome level (either the ribosome itself or the translation factor), taking advantages of the major differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic ribosome structures.