picornavirus

American

[pi-kawr-nuh-vahy-ruhs, -kawr-nuh-vahy-] / pɪˈkɔr nəˌvaɪ rəs, -ˌkɔr nəˈvaɪ- /

noun

plural

picornaviruses

any of a group of small, RNA-containing viruses of the family Picornaviridae, infectious to humans and other animals, and including the poliovirus and the rhinoviruses that cause the common cold.

picornavirus British

/ ˈpɪˈkɔːnəˌvaɪrəs /

noun

any one of a group of small viruses that contain RNA; the group includes polioviruses, rhinoviruses, coxsackie viruses, and the virus that causes foot-and-mouth disease

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of picornavirus

1960–65; pico- (in the sense “very small”) + RNA + virus

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.

The material was tested in the laboratory against four types of virus - two influenzas, the Covid virus and a picornavirus, which has the traits that make a virus highly stable outside the body.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023