adjective
noun
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Derived Forms
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Etymology
Origin of pandemic
First recorded in 1660–70; from Late Latin pandēm(us), from Greek pándēmos “common, public” ( pan- “all” + dêm(os) “the people” + -os adjective suffix) + -ic; see pan-
Explanation
Remember the 2009 swine flu? That was a pandemic — an illness that swept over much of the globe. People fear pandemics, and with good reason. The black plague that ran through Asia and Europe in the 1300s is believed to have killed as much as half of Europe's population, between 75 and 100 million folks. The word comes from ancient Greek — pan (meaning "all") and demos (meaning "people"), or simply put — all the people. Of course, people across the globe suffer from the seasonal flu, and many die from it. But it isn't considered a pandemic because it is generally harmless to the healthy.
Vocabulary lists containing pandemic
President Obama's Farewell Address
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Human Geography - High School
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For National Pancake Day, Words With the Greek Roots "Pan-"
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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.
See Examples For:
It receded into the background of everything else during the pandemic, but I never forgot about the issue.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
His tenure saw sales initially soar, driven by pandemic restrictions that boosted online shopping, but subsequent cost-of-living pressures curbed customer spending.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
The so-called lock-in effect, where people hold on to ultralow-rate mortgages obtained during the pandemic, “is creating a supply floor which will keep inventory from exploding and will keep prices from dropping dramatically,” she said.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026
He also said he wants to “confront pandemic learning loss.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
And even this enormous force might not have overcome the empire if while Cortes was building his ships Tenochtitlan had not been swept by smallpox in the same pandemic that later wiped out Tawantinsuyu.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Other research areas include reducing wildfire risk and fighting pandemics and climate change.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Rajaniemi first met Sam Altman in 2016, when the OpenAI chief was still working with the startup incubator Y Combinator and the two discussed pandemics.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
Bunch “briefed the Regents on his efforts to navigate the dual pandemics caused by the Coronavirus and issues surrounding race, racism, and racial identity,” the minutes of the June 2020 meeting stated.
From Salon ● Sep. 25, 2026
He added that El Niño, as well as global shipping disruption and the threat of pandemics, mean you cannot "just rely on the private sector coming through every single time".
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
Why hypothesize the existence of vast, super-deadly pandemics that seem unlike anything else in the historical record?
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
