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bird flu

British

noun

Also called: avian flu. a form of influenza occurring in poultry mainly in Japan, China and Southeast Asia, caused by a virus capable of spreading to humans

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

The first volunteers in the UK have been immunised with a vaccine to protect against a potential bird flu pandemic.

From BBC • Apr. 21, 2026

The bird flu outbreak is ongoing and has led to the culling of millions of birds, mostly turkeys, over the past few months.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

What has helped is that the threat of highly pathogenic avian influenza, or bird flu, has faded.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 1, 2026

We also can’t do this work in isolation, because pathogens like bird flu and Nipah virus don’t respect borders.

From Salon • Feb. 28, 2026

Prices plummeted last year as a bird flu outbreak eased, but the pace of cooling has slowed in recent months.

From Barron's • Feb. 27, 2026

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023