infection

American  

[in-fek-shuhn] / ɪnˈfɛk ʃən /

noun

• infections
  plural

1. an act or fact of infecting; state of being infected.

2. an infecting with germs of disease, as through the medium of infected insects, air, water, or clothing.

3. an infecting agency or influence.

4. an infectious disease.

   Is this infection very dangerous?

5. the condition of suffering an infection.

6. corruption of another's opinions, beliefs, moral principles, etc.; moral contamination.

7. an influence or impulse passing from one to another and affecting feeling or action.

8. Grammar. (in Celtic languages) assimilation in which a vowel is influenced by a following vowel or semivowel; umlaut.

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infection British  

/ ɪnˈfɛkʃən /

noun

1. invasion of the body by pathogenic microorganisms

2. the resulting condition in the tissues

3. an infectious disease

4. the act of infecting or state of being infected

5. an agent or influence that infects

6. persuasion or corruption, as by ideas, perverse influences, etc

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infection Scientific  

/ ĭn-fĕk′shən /

1. The invasion of the body of a human or an animal by a pathogen such as a bacterium, fungus, or virus. Infections can be localized, as in pharyngitis, or widespread as in sepsis, and are often accompanied by fever and an increased number of white blood cells. Individuals with immunodeficiency syndromes are predisposed to certain infections.

2. See also infectious disease opportunistic infection

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infection Cultural  

1. Invasion of the body or a body part by a pathogenic organism, which multiplies and produces harmful effects on the body's tissues.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• noninfection
  noun
• preinfection
  noun
• reinfection
  noun
• subinfection
  noun
• postinfection
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• infections
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of infection

1350–1400; Middle English infeccio ( u ) n < Late Latin infectiōn- (stem of infectiō ). See infect, -ion

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Explanation

Infections are what happens when germs invade your body and cause a disease. Some, like meningitis, an infection of the tissues covering the brain and spinal cord, can be deadly. Others, like the common cold, are relatively mild. If you've ever scraped your knee and ended up with a swollen, achy scab, you know that you can develop an infection if you don't tend to your cuts and wounds and keep them clean. Though the word was traditionally used in the medical sense to refer to the pathogens, or germs, that cause illness, infection is now sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to people or things that act like pathogens. If rival gangs turn a neighborhood into a battleground, you could refer to this as an infection of gang activity.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

infection infections

The family had already taken precautions to protect Magnolia from infection.

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

He was discharged with a complex postsurgery medication regimen to keep his immune system in check and prevent infection, one that had to be followed perfectly.

From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026

These molecules interfere with normal plant functions, allowing the pathogen to establish an infection and promote disease.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2026

The disease contributed to blood loss, anemia, and a serious secondary bacterial infection.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026

The digits of pi will take over like an infection.

From "The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl" by Stacy McAnulty

By engineering the natural immune defenses of plants, researchers have developed an experimental approach that could eventually help wheat, rice, and barley resist fungal infections more effectively.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2026

Armed with this structural information, the researchers modified TKP immune receptors so they could recognize two different fungal effectors associated with infections in wheat and barley.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2026

Pope Leo's predecessor, who died last year, also had part of his lung removed in his youth before suffering a series of respiratory infections later in life.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

Labour MP Dr Allison Gardner has been living with the "searing pain" of recurrent infections for about 10 years, after first experiencing symptoms with perimenopause.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

She’d had so many throat infections that the smell of it—“pink drink,” her father called it—became part of her childhood, like music she barely noticed during a scene in a movie.

From "Goodbye Stranger" by Rebecca Stead

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