coronavirus
Americannoun
-
coronaviruses
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of coronavirus
First recorded in 1965–70; so called from the coronalike array of spikes projecting from the capsid
Compare meaning
How does coronavirus compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A coronavirus is a specific type of microbe that can cause an infectious disease. One particular coronavirus, first identified in 2019, caused a worldwide pandemic. If you look at a coronavirus under a microscope, you'll see its round, spiky, crownlike shape. That's where this virus gets its name; corona means "crown" in Latin. People talked about coronaviruses a lot in 2020 because of Covid-19 (an acronym for coronavirus disease of 2019). But these viruses have been around for generations, and they're usually not so deadly. In fact, coronaviruses are responsible for the common cold, as well as illnesses affecting birds and non-human mammals.
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:
The fast-and-furious dialogue hits its nadir when Madison’s Frances slips Jeff important documents that he can’t even read because she nonsensically starts chattering about the looming coronavirus.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
Dubai’s travel economy has shown some ability to rebound from major shocks, like the coronavirus pandemic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
The coronavirus crisis plunged global life expectancy down to 71.5 years in 2021.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
Classified as a midfielder but deployed up front, Antonio's value actually dropped during a campaign that was disrupted by injury and the coronavirus pandemic.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
America’s affordability challenges mounted fast in 2022, as inflation rates soared as the U.S. and global economies restarted following the coronavirus pandemic and the Federal Reserve started raising its benchmark rate to combat rising prices.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 28, 2026
The company plans to focus in coming months on antibodies for coronaviruses, ebola-like viruses, bat-borne viruses, hemorrhagic-fever viruses, smallpox-like viruses and other potential threats.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
In the case of a global pandemic “where the whole population gets infected, basically you have a denominator of 7 billion people,” said Dr. Stanley Perlman, a University of Iowa microbiologist who studies coronaviruses.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2026
The company's vaccine development pipeline also includes candidates targeting seasonal influenza, pandemic influenza threats, hemorrhagic fever viruses, and coronaviruses including SARS-CoV-2.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 5, 2026
The vaccine was engineered to work on all coronaviruses which would include all Covid variants and viruses that infect animals, but could start the next pandemic.
From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026
In addition to explaining how bats’ immune systems keep up with coronaviruses, and possibly all viruses, the research also sheds light on bats’ evolutionary history.
From Salon ● Jan. 30, 2025
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