quarantine

American  

[kwawr-uhn-teen, kwor-, kwawr-uhn-teen, kwor-] / ˈkwɔr ənˌtin, ˈkwɒr-, ˌkwɔr ənˈtin, ˌkwɒr- /

noun

• quarantines
  plural

1. 

   a strict isolation imposed to prevent the spread of disease.

2. a period, originally 40 days, of detention or isolation imposed upon ships, persons, animals, or plants on arrival at a port or place, when suspected of carrying some infectious or contagious disease.

3. a system of measures maintained by governmental authority at ports, frontiers, etc., for preventing the spread of disease.

4. the branch of the governmental service concerned with such measures.

5. a place or station at which such measures are carried out, as a special port or dock where ships are detained.

6. the detention or isolation enforced.

7. the place, especially a hospital, where people are detained.

8. a period of 40 days.

9. social, political, or economic isolation imposed as a punishment, as in ostracizing an individual or enforcing sanctions against a foreign state.

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verb (used with object)

• quarantines,
  present (3rd person singular)
• quarantined,
  past participle,  past
• quarantining
  present participle

1. to put in or subject to quarantine.

2. to exclude, detain, or isolate for political, social, or hygienic reasons.

quarantine British  

/ ˈkwɒrənˌtiːn /

noun

1. a period of isolation or detention, esp of persons or animals arriving from abroad, to prevent the spread of disease, usually consisting of the maximum known incubation period of the suspected disease

2. the place or area where such detention is enforced

3. any period or state of enforced isolation

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verb

1. to isolate in or as if in quarantine

2. to withhold (a portion of a welfare payment) from a person or group of people

quarantine Cultural  

1. The isolation of people who either have a contagious disease or have been exposed to one, in an attempt to prevent the spread of the disease.

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Discover More

The term is sometimes used politically to designate the political and economic isolation of a nation in retribution for unacceptable policies: “When Iraq invaded Kuwait, it was placed in quarantine by the nations of the world.”

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• prequarantine
  noun
• quarantiner
  noun
• quarantinable
  adjective
• unquarantined
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• quarantines
  plural

Participles

• quarantining
  present
• quarantined
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• quarantine
  simple
• quarantines
  simple
• have quarantined
  perfect
• has quarantined
  perfect
• am quarantining
  progressive
• are quarantining
  progressive
• is quarantining
  progressive
• have been quarantining
  perfect progressive
• has been quarantining
  perfect progressive

Past

• quarantined
  simple
• had quarantined
  perfect
• was quarantining
  progressive
• were quarantining
  progressive
• had been quarantining
  perfect progressive

Future

• will quarantine
  simple
• will have quarantined
  perfect
• will be quarantining
  progressive
• will have been quarantining
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of quarantine

First recorded in 1600–10; from Italian quarantina, variant of quarantena, originally Upper Italian (Venetian): “period of forty days, group of forty,” derivative of quaranta “forty,” ultimately from Latin quadrāgintā

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Explanation

If you contract something highly infectious, such as pinkeye, please quarantine yourself so that you don’t infect others with it. This means you’ll have to stay in isolation and avoid contact with other people. Starting in the 16th century, a quarantine lasted specifically 40 days. The word is in fact derived from the Latin quadraginta, which means "forty." Originally, this referred to the amount of time a widow could remain in her deceased husband’s house, then referred to the period of time a ship had to wait off a country’s port if its passengers were disease-stricken. Now, it can mean a period of isolation of any length, and can be used as both a verb and a noun.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

quarantine quarantines quarantined quarantining

The new patient, a 39-year-old man, is a close relative of the first case and was already in quarantine when he fell ill on Tuesday, Kenya's health ministry says.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

That’s very different from our recent experience with hantavirus, which can take 42 days for symptoms to show, necessitating long periods of quarantine for people who were exposed.

From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2026

The death of a plague laboratory worker in Siberia last week has made global headlines, with Russian media suggesting hundreds were under quarantine and US President Donald Trump expressing concern.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

The canine is under quarantine, and officials say it’s doing well.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

But there is no room in the quarantine ward at Mama Yemo Hospital; so she leaves the hospital and hails another taxi.

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston

To be sure, screwworms can be contained through quarantines, tighter surveillance, and other methods.

From Barron's ● Jun. 8, 2026

The department said it had also enacted "quarantines, movement controls, and surveillance" in that area.

From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026

Before takeoff, shippers deal with complex veterinary clearances, quarantines and equine paperwork.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 14, 2026

“If it’s true that the novel coronavirus would kill millions without shelter-in-place orders and quarantines, then the extraordinary measures being carried out in cities and states around the country are surely justified,” Bhattacharaya wrote.

From Salon ● Nov. 27, 2024

JumboTrons, always on, regardless of power shortages, display the latest warnings about floods and quarantines.

From "Legend" by Marie Lu

But clearly, his decision didn’t stick, and in 2020, the pair quarantined together during the pandemic, a revelation that arose when eagle-eyed fans noticed their social media content had identical backgrounds.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026

On Thursday, Congolese health authorities quarantined a boat carrying 255 people near the capital, Kinshasa, after a passenger who had disembarked at an earlier stop died from Ebola-like symptoms in late July.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday that the U.S. plans to transport all seven Americans to Germany, where they will likely continue to be quarantined.

From MarketWatch ● May 18, 2026

In the meantime, he has been regularly communicating with his fiance and family, and he has messaged other passengers also quarantined in Omaha.

From BBC ● May 13, 2026

For the next sixty months I would be quarantined in the same district, seeing the same streets, the same mine dumps on the horizon, the same sky.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

In the U.S., some Americans who disembarked earlier in the trip and returned home before the outbreak had been made public are quarantining at home.

From MarketWatch ● May 12, 2026

Some other countries were only quarantining people from the ship for a few days before telling them to isolate at home, the minister said.

From Barron's ● May 11, 2026

And many American doctors initially opposed the procedure as dangerous, medically unproven, and expensive because of physicians’ often-hefty fees and the cost of maintaining facilities for quarantining people temporarily after they were inoculated.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 14, 2026

Isolating infected people and quarantining households can stop the virus at the secondary stage.

From BBC ● Dec. 17, 2025

We found what turned out to be one of the last buses out of Tembisa, for the police were quarantining the ghetto, barring all company vehicles and public transportation.

From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane

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Related Words

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