mad cow disease

American  

1. bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

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mad cow disease British  

noun

1. an informal name for BSE

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mad cow disease Scientific  

/ măd /

1. A degenerative neurologic disease of cattle, thought to be caused by infection-causing agents called prions, in which brain tissues deteriorate and take on a spongy appearance, resulting in abnormal behaviors and loss of muscle control. A variant form of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is transmitted to humans through the eating of infected cattle tissue.

2. Also called bovine spongiform encephalopathy

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mad cow disease Cultural  

1. A lethal disease that originates in cows and can spread to humans through consumption of affected neural tissue. It is called Jakob-Creutzfeldt disease in humans. It causes the brain to deteriorate through the instrument of an infectious protein called a prion.

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Etymology

Origin of mad cow disease

1985–90

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mad cow disease

She says the outbreak of BSE, or mad cow disease, that affected beef in the 1990s was more worrying because it could affect humans.

From BBC ● Apr. 5, 2026

Tallow is not currently FDA-approved for topical use and may come with risks, especially if it’s sourced from cows with certain health conditions and diseases, like mad cow disease.

From Salon ● Jan. 25, 2025

Also known as “zombie deer disease,” chronic wasting disease is a contagious infection similar to mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 9, 2024

Sales of Brazilian beef to China were banned in February following the discovery of an atypical case of mad cow disease.

From Washington Times ● Apr. 12, 2023

Then people in England began dying of a sickness called mad cow disease.

From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan