infectious disease

American  

[in-fek-shuhs di-zeez] / ɪnˈfɛk ʃəs dɪˈziz /

noun

1. a disease caused by a bacterium, virus, or other microorganism, and often spreading by contact between individuals or by a vector such as an insect: ID

   Chicken pox and cholera are infectious diseases.

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infectious disease Scientific  

1. A disease caused by a microorganism or other agent, such as a bacterium, fungus, or virus, that enters the body of an organism.

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Etymology

Origin of infectious disease

First recorded in 1570–80

Example Sentences

They have been joined by infectious disease experts and WHO staff, who will travel with them to the Canary Islands.

From BBC • May 6, 2026

The state counterpart to the National Institutes of Health would fund grants and programs for research in biomedicine, climate, wildfire, and infectious disease, among other areas.

From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026

The agency helped countries develop early warning systems to ensure that infectious disease outbreaks were rapidly detected and contained before they risked spreading to our borders.

From Slate • Apr. 23, 2026

Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease expert and senior scholar at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, told Salon he is not hopeful the outbreaks can be contained at this point.

From Salon • Apr. 8, 2026

Indeed, if laboratory mice have too much HLA diversity, Black told me, researchers can’t use them to observe the progress of an infectious disease.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann