plague

American  

[pleyg] / pleɪg /

noun

1. an epidemic disease that causes high mortality; pestilence.

2. an infectious, epidemic disease caused by a bacterium, Yersinia pestis, characterized by fever, chills, and prostration, transmitted to humans from rats by means of the bites of fleas.

3. any widespread affliction, calamity, or evil, especially one regarded as a direct punishment by God.

   a plague of war and desolation.

4. any cause of trouble, annoyance, or vexation.

   Uninvited guests are a plague.

   Synonyms:

   torment, bother, nuisance

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verb (used with object)

plagued, plaguing

1. to trouble, annoy, or torment in any manner.

   The question of his future plagues him with doubt.

2. to annoy, bother, or pester.

   Ants plagued the picnickers.

   Synonyms:

   disturb, irritate, badger, worry, fret, hector, harry, vex, harass

3. to smite with a plague, pestilence, death, etc.; scourge.

   those whom the gods had plagued.

4. to infect with a plague; cause an epidemic in or among.

   diseases that still plague the natives of Ethiopia.

5. to afflict with any evil.

   He was plagued by allergies all his life.

plague British  

/ pleɪɡ /

noun

1. any widespread and usually highly contagious disease with a high fatality rate

2. an infectious disease of rodents, esp rats, transmitted to man by the bite of the rat flea ( Xenopsylla cheopis )

3. See bubonic plague

4. something that afflicts or harasses

5. informal an annoyance or nuisance

6. a pestilence, affliction, or calamity on a large scale, esp when regarded as sent by God

7. archaic used to express annoyance, disgust, etc

   a plague on you

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verb

1. to afflict or harass

2. to bring down a plague upon

3. informal to annoy

plague Scientific  

/ plāg /

1. Any of various highly infectious, usually fatal epidemic diseases.

2. An often fatal disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, transmitted to humans usually by fleas that have bitten infected rats or other rodents.

3. ◆ Bubonic plague, the most common type, is characterized by the tender, swollen lymph nodes called buboes, fever, clotting abnormalities of the blood, and tissue necrosis. An epidemic of bubonic plague in fourteenth-century Europe and Asia was known as the Black Death.

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plague Cultural  

1. A highly contagious disease, such as bubonic plague, that spreads quickly throughout a population and causes widespread sickness and death.

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plague Idioms  

1. see avoid like the plague.

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Related Words

See bother.

Discover More

The term is also used to refer to widespread outbreaks of many kinds, such as a “plague of locusts.”

Other Word Forms

• antiplague
  noun
• plaguer
  noun
• unplagued
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of plague

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English plage, from Latin plāga “stripe, wound,” Late Latin: “pestilence”

Explanation

When the homeowner described her ant problem as a plague, the exterminator thought she was being a bit melodramatic. After all, a few bugs aren't exactly a huge calamity. Centuries ago, if you had admitted to a friend that you had the plague, that friend would have hightailed it in the other direction. In the Middle Ages, the plague was a horribly contagious illness that spread like wildfire through Europe, killing millions of people. Thanks to the introduction of better hygiene and antibiotics, plague doesn't describe a killer disease as often these days. Instead, it commonly overstates an annoyance, like an apartment dweller claiming his building is plagued by cockroaches.

Example Sentences

While this shift raises new concerns, it also has the potential to eliminate many of the frustrations that plague current systems.

From MarketWatch • May 11, 2026

So is Ms. Jones, even though Mrs. Bennet is a shrewish plague upon her most introverted daughter.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 5, 2026

The UK government said it wants to end the "pothole plague" although Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander, who is responsible for roads in England, struck a pothole and damaged her Mini Cooper last month.

From BBC • May 4, 2026

This approach revealed traces of ancient pathogens, including the plague bacterium Yersinia pestis and the organism responsible for louse-borne relapsing fever, Borrelia recurrentis.

From Science Daily • Apr. 22, 2026

In fact, they welcomed the mayhem that emanated from the talking box as if it were a plague of locusts at harvest time.

From "In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson" by Bette Bao Lord

Related Words

• contagion
• curse
• epidemic
• infection
• infestation
• influenza
• invasion
• outbreak
• pandemic
• scourge