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:
She first tried to make a waste clearance business work a few years ago, but the Covid pandemic made it difficult.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
Full-service restaurants reported a median income before taxes of 2.8% of sales last year, with expenses up 36% from before the pandemic, according to the National Restaurant Association trade group.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
After the negative interest rate environment of the 2010s was brought to an end by the pandemic, real interest rates have been rising.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
The rates of persistent absence have doubled since the pandemic.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
I’ve had it in varying degrees for years, and a global pandemic didn’t help matters.
From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell
The group is also fighting Becker’s bill, which would add war to the list of emergencies — such as natural disasters and pandemics — that can trigger California’s price-gouging laws.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
Influenza A has also driven multiple pandemics, including the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026
Major events like wars and pandemics also can disrupt those patterns, as can new technological developments and changing business models.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
History has also taught us that the gods like to dish out nasty surprises every few years: dot-com bubbles, subprime mortgage crises, pandemics, etc.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 16, 2026
They seem to have an occasional accident, but they have not yet, so far as I know, produced global pandemics.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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.
