adjective
noun
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Etymology
Origin of pandemic
First recorded in 1660–70; from Late Latin pandēm(us), from Greek pándēmos “common, public” ( pan- “all” + dêm(os) “the people” + -os adjective suffix) + -ic; see pan-
Explanation
Remember the 2009 swine flu? That was a pandemic — an illness that swept over much of the globe. People fear pandemics, and with good reason. The black plague that ran through Asia and Europe in the 1300s is believed to have killed as much as half of Europe's population, between 75 and 100 million folks. The word comes from ancient Greek — pan (meaning "all") and demos (meaning "people"), or simply put — all the people. Of course, people across the globe suffer from the seasonal flu, and many die from it. But it isn't considered a pandemic because it is generally harmless to the healthy.
Vocabulary lists containing pandemic
President Obama's Farewell Address
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Human Geography - High School
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For National Pancake Day, Words With the Greek Roots "Pan-"
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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:
Covid-19 dropped out of the top 10 leading causes of death for the first time since the pandemic exploded.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
President Emmanuel Macron has struggled to rein in spending that ballooned in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
His tenure saw sales initially soar, driven by pandemic restrictions that boosted online shopping, but subsequent cost-of-living pressures curbed customer spending.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
But it was during the pandemic home-buying frenzy and he felt he was running out of time, so once the couple found a home they wanted, they acted fast.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026
I was struck over and over by similarities between their times and ours, including: countrywide divisions, political name-calling, competing media outlets, new technologies, conspiracy theories, an addiction crisis, a pandemic, and the emphasis on fame.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
Bunch “briefed the Regents on his efforts to navigate the dual pandemics caused by the Coronavirus and issues surrounding race, racism, and racial identity,” the minutes of the June 2020 meeting stated.
From Salon ● Sep. 25, 2026
In areas such as climate science, pandemics, artificial intelligence or medical research, public conversations frequently invoke scientific consensus.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 9, 2026
He added that El Niño, as well as global shipping disruption and the threat of pandemics, mean you cannot "just rely on the private sector coming through every single time".
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
Narrated through 18 voices, the book is set in a dystopian future America reeling from a series of pandemics.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
Why hypothesize the existence of vast, super-deadly pandemics that seem unlike anything else in the historical record?
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
