epidemic
Americanadjective
-
Also epidemical (of a disease) affecting many persons at the same time, and spreading from person to person in a locality where the disease is not permanently prevalent.
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extremely prevalent; widespread.
noun
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epidemics
plural
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a temporary prevalence of a disease.
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a rapid spread or increase in the occurrence of something.
an epidemic of riots.
adjective
noun
-
a widespread occurrence of a disease
an influenza epidemic
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a rapid development, spread, or growth of something, esp something unpleasant
an epidemic of strikes
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of epidemic
First recorded in 1595–1605; obsolete epidem(y) (from Late Latin epidēmia, from Greek epidēmía “staying in one place, among the people,” equivalent to epi- epi- + dêm(os) “people of a district” + -ia -y 3 ) + -ic
Explanation
An epidemic is a disease that spreads rapidly among many people in a community at the same time. In the 1980s, the fast-spreading AIDS epidemic transformed life on our planet. Epidemic can be used figuratively to refer to something that spreads or grows rapidly: an epidemic of laziness has taken over the tenth grade. This word is from French épidémique, ultimately from Greek epidēmia "staying in one place, among the people." The related word pandemic refers to a disease that spreads throughout an entire country or throughout the world.
Vocabulary lists containing epidemic
Human Geography - Middle School
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Human Geography - High School
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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:
Lillie’s claims show the stakes for banks in the epidemic of scams.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
That trip was orchestrated by Kerry Morrison, founder of Hollywood 4wrd, who was looking for answers to the epidemic of severe mental illness and homelessness.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
“Loneliness is an epidemic among both young people and older people. Living together helps bring different energy, skills and opportunities into the space that we wouldn’t normally have. It helps counter stereotypes.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
It is not the first time Sri Lanka has experienced a dengue epidemic.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
Thus, food production and thousands of years of societal evolution following its adoption were as essential for the evolution of writing as for the evolution of microbes causing human epidemic diseases.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
According to Barnes, this is actually quite typical, historically: “Societies forget epidemics quickly,” he said.
From Slate ● Aug. 3, 2026
Before the development of preventive vaccines, polio epidemics left many young patients unable to walk.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026
For many people, plague brings to mind rats, crowded medieval towns, and the devastating epidemics that spread across Europe during and after the Middle Ages.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 18, 2026
He said Yemenis would be "very vulnerable to epidemics" this year, warning: "A humanitarian crisis in Yemen is a risk to the Arabian Peninsula. Cholera, measles and polio cross borders."
From Barron's ● Jan. 19, 2026
“Think of it. Dr. Rush has seen two or three epidemics in his life. The French doctors came from the West Indies, where they treat yellow fever every year. Surely their experience is more valuable.”
From "Fever 1793" by Laurie Halse Anderson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
