pandemic

American  

[pan-dem-ik] / pænˈdɛm ɪk /

adjective

1. (of a disease) prevalent throughout an entire country, continent, or the whole world; epidemic over a large area.

2. general; universal.

   pandemic fear of atomic war.

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noun

pandemics plural

1. a disease prevalent throughout an entire country, continent, or the whole world.

pandemic British  

/ pænˈdɛmɪk /

adjective

1. (of a disease) affecting persons over a wide geographical area; extensively epidemic

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noun

1. a pandemic disease

pandemic Scientific  

/ păn-dĕm′ĭk /

1. An epidemic that spreads over a very wide area, such as an entire country or continent.

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pandemic Cultural  

1. A widespread epidemic affecting a large part of the population.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• pandemia
  noun
• pandemicity
  noun
• interpandemic
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• pandemics
  plural

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pandemic pandemics

But because a lab accident could cause a pandemic, many scientists argued that no mitigation could outweigh the risks, and such gain-of-function experiments were too dangerous to permit.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

Since the pandemic, the organization has sent out email and text blasts to the community offering boxes of food — only 150 boxes are available each week.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

PayPal has to compete with the likes of Apple Pay, which saw growing adoption during the COVID-19 pandemic era.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026

Instead, they appear to be shaped by both individual differences and shared experiences, including major social disruptions such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 27, 2026

Word of the spirit circles spread almost as fast as the cholera pandemic that swept the country.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

Market corrections, recessions, depressions, pandemics and human folly, along with investing in individual stocks despite the standard advice to diversify your holdings, can all take a toll on retirement savings.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026

Outbreaks and pandemics are often accompanied by misinformation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026

He told the BBC: "What's really interesting is the technology is an awful lot better at designing vaccines for potential pandemics when viruses are changing."

From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026

Negotiations are also stalled by a demand from developing countries for guarantees of equitable access to vaccines outside pandemics, as well as wranglings over financial contributions that participating pharmaceutical companies should make.

From Barron's ● May 1, 2026

Not only do archaeologists like Dobyns, Perttula, and Ramenofsky argue that unrecorded pandemics swept through the Americas, they claim that the diseases themselves were of unprecedented deadliness.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann