bubonic plague

American  

noun

Pathology.

1. a serious, sometimes fatal, infection with the bacterial toxin Yersinia pestis, transmitted by fleas from infected rodents and characterized by high fever, weakness, and the formation of buboes, especially in the groin and armpits.

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bubonic plague British  

noun

1. an acute infectious febrile disease characterized by chills, prostration, delirium, and formation of buboes: caused by the bite of a rat flea infected with the bacterium Yersinia pestis See also plague

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bubonic plague Cultural  

1. A highly contagious disease, usually fatal, affecting the lymphatic system. The bubonic plague is caused by bacteria transmitted to humans by rat-borne fleas.

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Discover More

From 1347 to 1351, a disease known as the Black Death, similar to the bubonic plague, entered Europe from Asia and killed a large percentage of the population, sometimes wiping out entire towns. It caused widespread social changes in Europe.

Etymology

Origin of bubonic plague

First recorded in 1885–90

Compare meaning

How does bubonic-plague compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• bubonic plague vs. Black Death
• Black Plague vs. bubonic plague
• pneumonic plague vs. bubonic plague
• bubonic plague vs. coronavirus
• pneumonic vs. bubonic plague

Example Sentences

In July, an Arizona resident died of the pneumonic form of the plague, which can develop when bacteria spread to the lungs of a patient with untreated bubonic plague.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 19, 2025

Symptoms of the bubonic plague in humans typically appear within two to eight days after exposure and may include fever, chills, headache, weakness, and swollen lymph nodes.

From BBC • Jul. 12, 2025

Madagascar is one of the last places where outbreaks of human bubonic plague still happen regularly.

From Science Daily • May 1, 2024

Officials in central Oregon this week reported a case of bubonic plague in a resident who likely got the disease from a sick pet cat.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 13, 2024

He had survived pellagra in Persia, scurvy in the Malayan archipelago, leprosy in Alexandria, beriberi in Japan, bubonic plague in Madagascar, an earthquake in Sicily, and a disastrous shipwreck in the Strait of Magellan.

From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez