outbreak
Americannoun
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outbreaks
plural
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a sudden breaking out or occurrence, especially of something bad or unpleasant; eruption.
the outbreak of war.
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a sudden and active manifestation.
an outbreak of hives.
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a sudden increase in the incidence of a disease or medical condition in a particular place or population: a worldwide polio outbreak in the early 1900s.
a serious outbreak of malaria in northern Uganda;
a worldwide polio outbreak in the early 1900s.
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an outburst.
an outbreak of temper.
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an insurrection, revolt, or mutiny.
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a public disturbance; riot.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of outbreak
Explanation
A sudden or abrupt onset of something really bad is an outbreak. You could experience an outbreak of measles or an outbreak of violence; either way, try to protect yourself. When you talk about an outbreak of something, it's almost always something terrible, or at least unwanted. You might hear about an outbreak of war in a distant country, or an outbreak of violence in a big city, or an outbreak of disease among farm animals. Outbreak started as a Middle English verb around 1300, becoming a noun meaning "eruption" about three hundred years later.
Vocabulary lists containing outbreak
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
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Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 6
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“Vaccine Controversy Shows Why We Need Markets, Not Mandates” by Ron Paul
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The 2026 outbreak was formally recognized after the death of a nurse.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026
Palisades High athletic director Rocky Montz announced Thursday afternoon that the Dolphins have forfeited their nonleague football game at San Pedro on Friday night because of an illness outbreak.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
The pipeline has been a crucial shock absorber for the oil market since the outbreak of war.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Hospitals have been left overwhelmed by the outbreak.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
This unfair treaty, called the Munich Agreement, shows just how desperate the European powers were to avoid the outbreak of a war against Hitler’s Germany.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
After stronger south-westerly winds are due to blow cloud and outbreaks of rain across from the west on Friday, the weather will start to settle down over the weekend.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
There are outbreaks of measles across the country, a vaccine-preventable disease.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
Researchers therefore suspect that some of these prehistoric outbreaks may have begun when the disease passed directly from infected marmots into humans.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 15, 2026
There are no known cyclosporiasis outbreaks in California, but officials say case numbers are higher than they expected for this point in the season.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026
In this room, Army doctors and officials discussed outbreaks of virus.
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
