pathogen
Americannoun
noun
-
An agent that causes infection or disease, especially a microorganism, such as a bacterium or protozoan, or a virus.
-
See Note at germ
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of pathogen
Explanation
A pathogen is a tiny living organism, such as a bacterium or virus, that makes people sick. Washing your hands frequently helps you avoid the pathogens that can make you sick. Pathos is the Greek word for disease and -genes means "born of." So, a pathogen is something that causes disease, like a virus like the rhinovirus, which causes the common cold. At summer picnics, people are cautious about keeping certain foods like potato salad in coolers with ice — the eggs in such dishes spoil quickly out in the heat, introducing pathogens that can make people sick.
Vocabulary lists containing pathogen
Common Senses: Path ("Feeling")
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Fast Food Nation
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The Martian
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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.
Davji Bhimji Atellah, KMPDU's secretary general, said the union "will not sit back and watch Kenya be treated as a containment colony for a lethal pathogen that we did not generate."
From BBC • May 29, 2026
"Our data provide important information of which pathogens native snakes may likely have but also which they are likely naïve to. This can inform actions needed to prevent pathogen spillover from captive snakes," Mishin concluded.
From Science Daily • May 26, 2026
It’s a perennial pathogen, highly contagious and extremely deadly, and its occasional flareups could threaten a global disaster.
From Salon • May 20, 2026
Users clearly want to know about the rodent-borne pathogen detected aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius, which is expected to arrive in Spain by Sunday.
From Barron's • May 8, 2026
In the second stage a former animal pathogen evolves to the point where it does get transmitted directly between people and causes epidemics.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
