infectious disease

American  

[in-fek-shuhs di-zeez] / ɪnˈfɛk ʃəs dɪˈziz /

noun

1. a disease caused by a bacterium, virus, or other microorganism, and often spreading by contact between individuals or by a vector such as an insect: ID

   Chicken pox and cholera are infectious diseases.

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infectious disease Scientific  

1. A disease caused by a microorganism or other agent, such as a bacterium, fungus, or virus, that enters the body of an organism.

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Etymology

Origin of infectious disease

First recorded in 1570–80

Example Sentences

Overcoming these limitations could improve how the world prepares for and responds to future infectious disease threats.

From Science Daily • Mar. 17, 2026

He said all the right things to his eventual fiancée, infectious disease physician Jessica Barrett, while they were dating.

From Salon • Mar. 8, 2026

Ford, who lived in Barnsley, was transferred to an infectious disease unit at Sheffield's Royal Hallamshire Hospital where she died on 11 June, the jury heard.

From BBC • Mar. 3, 2026

It is easy to forget that, even in today’s healthiest countries, we are only four or five generations removed from a world where most people, most of the time, died of infectious disease.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 23, 2026

Lice carried an infectious disease called trench fever, characterized by chills and high fever, which put thousands of men out of action.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman