coronavirus
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of coronavirus
First recorded in 1965–70; so called from the coronalike array of spikes projecting from the capsid
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How does coronavirus compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A coronavirus is a specific type of microbe that can cause an infectious disease. One particular coronavirus, first identified in 2019, caused a worldwide pandemic. If you look at a coronavirus under a microscope, you'll see its round, spiky, crownlike shape. That's where this virus gets its name; corona means "crown" in Latin. People talked about coronaviruses a lot in 2020 because of Covid-19 (an acronym for coronavirus disease of 2019). But these viruses have been around for generations, and they're usually not so deadly. In fact, coronaviruses are responsible for the common cold, as well as illnesses affecting birds and non-human mammals.
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.
But WHO officials have stressed that the situation is not comparable in risk to the deadly 2020 Coronavirus pandemic.
From Barron's • May 10, 2026
Coronavirus levels in the sewage of Northern California’s most populous county, Santa Clara, were still considered “high” as of Friday.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 8, 2025
Liverpool last won the Premier League five years ago, but the Coronavirus pandemic meant there were no fans inside Anfield to witness it.
From BBC • Apr. 27, 2025
Coronavirus fears were already sweeping through China, and an urgent evacuation flight had been arranged to bring stranded Brits home from the virus epicentre, Wuhan.
From BBC • Mar. 3, 2025
In fact, Chiu leads a new initiative that intends to do just that: The Mucosal Immunity in Human Coronavirus Challenge, or MusiCC, project has received $57 million to develop experimental vaccines to block transmission.
From Salon • Jan. 3, 2025
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
