pox

[ poks ]

/ pɒks /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pox ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Pathology.

a disease characterized by multiple skin pustules, as smallpox.

Also called soil rot. Plant Pathology. a disease of sweet potatoes, characterized by numerous pitlike lesions on the roots, caused by a fungus, Streptomyces ipomoea.

(used as an interjection to express distaste, rejection, aversion, etc.): A pox on you and your bright ideas!

Nearby words

powhatan, powhatan confederacy, powhiri, powwow, powys, pox, poxviridae, poxvirus, poxy, poyang, poyang lake

Origin of pox

1540–50 (earlier as surname); spelling variant of pocks, plural of pock

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for pox

For example, though I had chicken pox decades ago, I still have antibody to chicken pox.
The ‘HIV-Cured Baby’ Distorts Hope|Kent Sepkowitz|March 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Libertarians, of course, have grimly wished a pox on both their houses of Congress.
Big Brother Is Watching Your Cell Phone|Megan McArdle|June 6, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The darkness of the new fear followed him out of the room, and the name of it was Pox.
Wilderness of Spring|Edgar Pangborn
A pox o your throat, you bawling, blasphemous, incharitable dog!
The Tempest|William Shakespeare

I saie the pox, as by experience we se there is no better remedy than sweatyng and the drinkyng of guaiacum, etc.
A History of Epidemics in Britain (Volume I of II)|Charles Creighton
The first original English writer on the pox was William Clowes.
A History of Epidemics in Britain (Volume I of II)|Charles Creighton
These were simply 'A Pox take it', the curse being supposed to take effect at once.
The Witch-cult in Western Europe|Margaret Alice Murray

British Dictionary definitions for pox

pox

/ (pɒks) /

noun

any disease characterized by the formation of pustules on the skin that often leave pockmarks when healed

the pox an informal name for syphilis

a pox on someone (interjection) archaic an expression of intense disgust or aversion for someone

Word Origin for pox

C15: changed from pocks, plural of pock

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

Medicine definitions for pox

pox

[ pŏks ]

n.

A disease such as chickenpox or smallpox, characterized by purulent skin eruptions that may leave pockmarks.

Syphilis.