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flu

[ floo ]
/ flu /
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noun
a specific variety of influenza, usually named for its point of dissemination or its animal vector: Hong Kong flu; swine flu.

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Origin of flu

First recorded in 1830–40; shortened form

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH flu

flew, flu , flue
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use flu in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for flu

flu
/ (fluː) /

noun informal
the flu short for influenza
any of various viral infections, esp a respiratory or intestinal infection
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

Scientific definitions for flu

flu
[ flōō ]

See influenza.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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