Salk

American

[sawk, sawlk] / sɔk, sɔlk /

noun

Jonas E(dward), 1914–95, U.S. bacteriologist: developed Salk vaccine.

Salk British

/ sɔːlk /

noun

Jonas Edward. 1914–95, US virologist: developed an injected vaccine against poliomyelitis (1954)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Salk Scientific

/ sôlk /

American microbiologist who in 1954 developed the first effective vaccine against polio, using an inactivated form of the virus. Salk's vaccine, which was administered by injection, was widely used until 1959 when Albert Sabin introduced an orally administered vaccine derived from a live form of the virus.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

When Salk scientists added methionine to the diets of infected mice, the animals followed a very different disease trajectory.

From Science Daily • Jun. 1, 2026

The breakthrough arrived in 1955 when Dr. Jonas Salk introduced a safe and effective injected vaccine, funded by grassroots donations to the March of Dimes, then officially known as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

It was intended for the greatest American artists, scientists, entertainers, writers, thinkers—Robert Frost, John Ford, Jonas Salk.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 26, 2026

After finishing her postdoctoral training at Salk, Brandebura plans to continue this line of research at UVA Health.

From Science Daily • Dec. 17, 2025

“If this country spent half as much time on science education as cheering some idiot with a ball, you’d know who Jonas Salk is.”

From "The Fourteenth Goldfish" by Jennifer L. Holm

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023