COVID-19

American  

[koh-vid-nahyn-teen] / ˈkoʊ vɪd naɪnˌtin /

Also Covid-19;

noun

Pathology.

1. coronavirus disease 2019: a potentially severe, primarily respiratory illness caused by a coronavirus and characterized by fever, coughing, and shortness of breath. In some people, the disease also damages major organs, as the heart or kidneys.

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Spelling

COVID-19 (all capital letters) is the spelling used internationally by scientific and medical professionals and their related organizations, which corresponds with the American convention of capitalizing an acronym such as AIDS or SARS. However, Covid-19 (spelled like a proper noun with an initial capital letter followed by lowercase letters) is the less obtrusive form used by several prominent media, such as The New York Times and The Times of London. And it is not uncommon to see both forms shortened to just COVID or Covid, respectively. The lowercase form covid is considerably less common in edited text.

Usage

What is COVID-19?  COVID-19 is a highly infectious respiratory disease caused by a new coronavirus. The disease was discovered in China in December 2019 and then spread around the world, causing an unprecedented public health crisis.For health, safety, and medical emergencies or updates on the novel coronavirus pandemic, please visit the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and WHO (World Health Organization).What are some variants of COVID-19?

• Covid-19
• covid-19
• COVID
• covid

Etymology

Origin of COVID-19

Short for co(rona)vi(rus) d(isease) (20)19, the year in which the outbreak of the disease was first identified; so named by the World Health Organization in 2020

Example Sentences

Overall, China has struggled to maintain a strong economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

From Barron's

Though methodological changes make drawing historical comparisons difficult, the only other period of falling fixed-asset investment occurred during the Covid-19 pandemic.

From The Wall Street Journal

Fewer HBS graduates were looking for work three months after graduation compared with the prior year—16% versus 23%—though at a higher rate than before Covid-19.

From The Wall Street Journal

In 2021, she won the Livingston Award for Young Journalists for her coverage of the early days of Covid-19 in Wuhan.

From The Wall Street Journal

But since the COVID-19 pandemic, the recent geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China and the growth of the local film industry, that kind of reception has been much more unreliable.

From Los Angeles Times