Black Death

American  

noun

1. a form of bubonic plague that spread over Europe in the 14th century and killed an estimated quarter of the population.

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Black Death British  

noun

1. a form of bubonic plague pandemic in Europe and Asia during the 14th century, when it killed over 50 million people See bubonic plague

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Black Death Scientific  

1. An epidemic of plague, especially its bubonic form, that occurred in outbreaks between 1347 and 1400. It originated in Asia and then swept through Europe, where it killed about a third of the population.

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Black Death Cultural  

1. A disease that killed nearly half the people of western Europe in the fourteenth century. It was a form of the bubonic plague.

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Etymology

Origin of Black Death

First recorded in 1815–25

Compare meaning

How does black-death compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• bubonic plague vs. Black Death
• Spanish flu vs. Black Death

Example Sentences

“We survived the collapse of the Roman Empire, the Black Death, Hitler and Stalin. I think we can survive AI.”

From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026

Indeed, history is filled with examples of this, from the medieval Black Death hitchhiking along the Silk Road to the “Russian flu” pandemic of the late 19th century that was accelerated by trains and steamships.

From Salon • Feb. 28, 2026

A study published in the scientific journal Communications Earth & Environment proposes that volcanic activity may have contributed to the rapid movement of the Black Death across medieval Europe.

From Science Daily • Dec. 8, 2025

Scientists now say a volcano might have triggered Black Death.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 5, 2025

Other episodes of mass fatality are abundantly documented: the Black Death in Europe, the post-collectivization famine in the Soviet Union, even the traffic in African slaves.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann