plague

American  

[pleyg] / pleɪg /

noun

1. an epidemic disease that causes high mortality; pestilence.

2. an infectious, epidemic disease caused by a bacterium, Yersinia pestis, characterized by fever, chills, and prostration, transmitted to humans from rats by means of the bites of fleas.

3. any widespread affliction, calamity, or evil, especially one regarded as a direct punishment by God.

   a plague of war and desolation.

4. any cause of trouble, annoyance, or vexation.

   Uninvited guests are a plague.

   Synonyms:

   torment, bother, nuisance

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verb (used with object)

plagued, plaguing

1. to trouble, annoy, or torment in any manner.

   The question of his future plagues him with doubt.

2. to annoy, bother, or pester.

   Ants plagued the picnickers.

   Synonyms:

   disturb, irritate, badger, worry, fret, hector, harry, vex, harass

3. to smite with a plague, pestilence, death, etc.; scourge.

   those whom the gods had plagued.

4. to infect with a plague; cause an epidemic in or among.

   diseases that still plague the natives of Ethiopia.

5. to afflict with any evil.

   He was plagued by allergies all his life.

plague British  

/ pleɪɡ /

noun

1. any widespread and usually highly contagious disease with a high fatality rate

2. an infectious disease of rodents, esp rats, transmitted to man by the bite of the rat flea ( Xenopsylla cheopis )

3. See bubonic plague

4. something that afflicts or harasses

5. informal an annoyance or nuisance

6. a pestilence, affliction, or calamity on a large scale, esp when regarded as sent by God

7. archaic used to express annoyance, disgust, etc

   a plague on you

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verb

1. to afflict or harass

2. to bring down a plague upon

3. informal to annoy

plague Scientific  

/ plāg /

1. Any of various highly infectious, usually fatal epidemic diseases.

2. An often fatal disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, transmitted to humans usually by fleas that have bitten infected rats or other rodents.

3. ◆ Bubonic plague, the most common type, is characterized by the tender, swollen lymph nodes called buboes, fever, clotting abnormalities of the blood, and tissue necrosis. An epidemic of bubonic plague in fourteenth-century Europe and Asia was known as the Black Death.

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plague Cultural  

1. A highly contagious disease, such as bubonic plague, that spreads quickly throughout a population and causes widespread sickness and death.

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plague Idioms  

1. see avoid like the plague.

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Related Words

See bother.

Discover More

The term is also used to refer to widespread outbreaks of many kinds, such as a “plague of locusts.”

Other Word Forms

• antiplague noun
• plaguer noun
• unplagued adjective

Etymology

Origin of plague

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English plage, from Latin plāga “stripe, wound,” Late Latin: “pestilence”

Example Sentences

The central region, one of the country's key centres of agricultural production, has already sustained major livestock losses over the past three years owing to floods and sheep plague.

From Barron's • Mar. 30, 2026

Though Felix was glad to have set out from Switzerland ahead of the plague, the road ahead wasn’t any less perilous.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026

A Department for Transport spokesman said the report "rightly highlights the need to improve our roads" and pointed out that the government has raised the funding level to help councils "fix the pothole plague".

From BBC • Mar. 16, 2026

Unlike the medieval plague, however, this earlier version could not be transmitted by fleas.

From Science Daily • Mar. 7, 2026

The sixth labor, was to drive away the Stymphalian birds, which were a plague to the people of Stymphalus because of their enormous numbers.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

Related Words

• contagion
• curse
• epidemic
• infection
• infestation
• influenza
• invasion
• outbreak
• pandemic
• scourge