patient zero
Americannoun
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Pathology. the first known carrier of infection in an outbreak.
Public health officials are tracing all contacts of infected patients, trying to work their way back to find patient zero.
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the person or thing that is believed to be the point of origin for any spreading effect, status, or event, especially if negative.
One rowdy new student was patient zero for all kinds of classroom chaos and problem behaviors.
Etymology
Origin of patient zero
First recorded in 1985–90
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.
“Taylor Swift is patient zero for emotional contagion.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
The presumed patient zero is a nurse who died in the provincial capital Bunia, but was buried in Mongwalu, also a gold-mining town.
From BBC ● May 19, 2026
According to Kamba, patient zero was a nurse who reported to a health facility in provincial capital Bunia on April 24, with symptoms suggesting Ebola.
From Barron's ● May 16, 2026
I could not identify the patient zero of the cheese-pull phenomenon, but it was around this time that Chili’s became inescapable on TikTok—everyone stretching cheese as far as they could while praising the Triple Dipper.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2025
The news reports suggested that one of them could be patient zero.
From New York Times ● Jun. 21, 2023
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
