germ warfare

American  

noun

1. biological warfare.

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germ warfare British  

noun

1. Also called: bacteriological warfare.  the military use of disease-spreading bacteria against an enemy

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germ warfare Cultural  

1. The use of microorganisms in war to injure or destroy humans, animals, or crops. This type of warfare is outlawed by international treaty, but facilities for developing biological weapons exist in some countries. (See bioterrorism (see also bioterrorism) and biological warfare.)

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Etymology

Origin of germ warfare

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

The Pentagon needs to improve defenses and readiness against biological weapons attacks and is ill-prepared for potential germ warfare attacks from China or other adversaries, according to a new biodefense posture report.

From Washington Times

The United States once also had a sprawling germ warfare and biological weapons program; those weapons were destroyed in the 1970s.

From New York Times

In the 1950s and 1960s, decades before the conspiracy theories were born, much of Britain was sprayed with airborne chemicals in a series of secret germ warfare tests.

From BBC

It was known as "Anthrax Island" after it was contaminated during World War Two by scientists carrying out germ warfare experiments.

From BBC

The dominant conspiracy theory — and I do not know how widespread it was, in terms of having a large number of believers — was that the 1918 flu was a form of germ warfare.

From Salon