Many, if not most, antibiotics act by inhibiting the events necessary for bacterial growth. Some inhibit DNA replication, some, transcription, some antibiotics prevent bacteria from making proteins, some prevent the synthesis of cell walls, and so on. In general, antibiotics keep bacteria from building the parts that are needed for growth.
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t seems funny to think that not growing can be a mechanism for survival. But if you’re a bacteria, and you can hang around long enough in an inactive, non-growing state, eventually your human host will stop taking antibiotics, they will disappear from your environment and you can go back to growing.