outbreak

American  

[out-breyk] / ˈaʊtˌbreɪk /

noun

• outbreaks
  plural

1. a sudden breaking out or occurrence, especially of something bad or unpleasant; eruption.

   the outbreak of war.

2. a sudden and active manifestation.

   an outbreak of hives.

3. 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.

4. an outburst.

   an outbreak of temper.

5. an insurrection, revolt, or mutiny.

6. a public disturbance; riot.

---

outbreak British  

/ ˈaʊtˌbreɪk /

noun

1. a sudden, violent, or spontaneous occurrence, esp of disease or strife

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• outbreaks
  plural

Etymology

Origin of outbreak

First recorded in 1595–1605; out- + break

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

outbreak outbreaks

The cyclospora outbreak has become the nation’s largest of its kind, sickening thousands of people.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026

As the cyclospora outbreak has made consumers more cautious about salad purchases, one analyst points to sales declines for Clorox’s Hidden Valley brand.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

A 2018-2020 outbreak in the DRC, previously considered the country's deadliest, killed 2,299 people out of 3,381 confirmed cases, according to WHO figures based on Congolese data.

From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026

Consumers have cut back on salad purchases, as the cyclospora outbreak keeps them wary of lettuce.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026

“Since the outbreak of the war, interest in uranium has intensified in Germany,” Einstein warned.

From "Bomb" by Steve Sheinkin

"Across the country, we've watched preventable conditions -- overgrown stands, insect outbreaks and disease -- turn healthy landscapes into tinderboxes," she said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026

But there may be another reason, too, said Jim Farrar, director of the UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program: State laws and local ordinances that have banned certain rodenticides could be inadvertently fueling typhoid outbreaks.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

The 2026 outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo species of Ebola, which has previously caused only two known outbreaks - in 2007 and 2012.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

When the Covid-19 pandemic grounded the cruise industry, high-profile outbreaks and a more than yearlong U.S. hiatus left ships empty.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

The Agriculture Department itself has credited these importations with appreciably reducing the frequency and destructiveness of gypsy moth outbreaks.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

Related Words

• crash
• disruption
• epidemic
• eruption
• explosion
• flare-up
• onset
• plague
• storm
• surge
• uprising