outbreak

American  

[out-breyk] / ˈaʊtˌbreɪk /

noun

outbreaks plural

1. a sudden breaking out or occurrence, especially of something bad or unpleasant; eruption.

   the outbreak of war.

2. a sudden and active manifestation.

   an outbreak of hives.

3. a sudden increase in the incidence of a disease or medical condition in a particular place or population: a worldwide polio outbreak in the early 1900s.

   a serious outbreak of malaria in northern Uganda;

   a worldwide polio outbreak in the early 1900s.

4. an outburst.

   an outbreak of temper.

5. an insurrection, revolt, or mutiny.

6. a public disturbance; riot.

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outbreak British  

/ ˈaʊtˌbreɪk /

noun

1. a sudden, violent, or spontaneous occurrence, esp of disease or strife

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• outbreaks
  plural

Etymology

Origin of outbreak

First recorded in 1595–1605; out- + break

Explanation

A sudden or abrupt onset of something really bad is an outbreak. You could experience an outbreak of measles or an outbreak of violence; either way, try to protect yourself. When you talk about an outbreak of something, it's almost always something terrible, or at least unwanted. You might hear about an outbreak of war in a distant country, or an outbreak of violence in a big city, or an outbreak of disease among farm animals. Outbreak started as a Middle English verb around 1300, becoming a noun meaning "eruption" about three hundred years later.

Related Words

• crash
• disruption
• epidemic
• eruption
• explosion
• flare-up
• onset
• plague
• storm
• surge
• uprising