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:
Industry experts said some businesses might add more warehouse capacity after the cyclospora outbreak this summer and a recent wave of cyberattacks on supermarket freezers in Europe.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
The ongoing outbreak centred on DR Congo is fuelled by the Bundibugyo variant of the virus.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
Sweetgreen SG -2.12%decrease; down pointing triangle forecast a more moderate decline in same-store sales this year after bouncing back from the Cyclospora outbreak.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
The Royal Free Hospital successfully treated three health workers who had been evacuated after the Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014 and 2015.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
All three of the Gaunts seemed to have forgotten Ogden, who was looking both bewildered and irritated at this renewed outbreak of incomprehensible hissing and rasping.
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
"That really increases the chance of cold air outbreaks across the latitudes where most of the densely populated population centers are across the northern hemisphere, US, Europe and East Asia," Cohen told AFP.
From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026
Poultry remained largely unchanged, as steady international demand offset ample supplies, with Brazilian exports holding up despite trade restrictions following Newcastle disease outbreaks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez has said that 70,000 police and gendarmes are being deployed, vowing "an extremely firm response" to any potential outbreaks of violence.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
Her campaign launch video hinged on measles outbreaks and the harm of anti-vax sentiments at the highest levels of public health.
From Salon ● Nov. 4, 2026
At the end of October, German naval crews mutinied, and within a week, revolutionary outbreaks had spread to every big German city.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
