quarantine

American  

[kwawr-uhn-teen, kwor-, kwawr-uhn-teen, kwor-] / ˈkwɔr ənˌtin, ˈkwɒr-, ˌkwɔr ənˈtin, ˌkwɒr- /

noun

quarantines plural

1. a strict isolation imposed to prevent the spread of disease.

2. a period, originally 40 days, of detention or isolation imposed upon ships, persons, animals, or plants on arrival at a port or place, when suspected of carrying some infectious or contagious disease.

3. a system of measures maintained by governmental authority at ports, frontiers, etc., for preventing the spread of disease.

4. the branch of the governmental service concerned with such measures.

5. a place or station at which such measures are carried out, as a special port or dock where ships are detained.

6. the detention or isolation enforced.

7. the place, especially a hospital, where people are detained.

8. a period of 40 days.

9. social, political, or economic isolation imposed as a punishment, as in ostracizing an individual or enforcing sanctions against a foreign state.

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verb (used with object)

quarantines, present (3rd person singular) quarantined, past participle, past quarantining present participle

1. to put in or subject to quarantine.

2. to exclude, detain, or isolate for political, social, or hygienic reasons.

quarantine British  

/ ˈkwɒrənˌtiːn /

noun

1. a period of isolation or detention, esp of persons or animals arriving from abroad, to prevent the spread of disease, usually consisting of the maximum known incubation period of the suspected disease

2. the place or area where such detention is enforced

3. any period or state of enforced isolation

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verb

1. to isolate in or as if in quarantine

2. to withhold (a portion of a welfare payment) from a person or group of people

quarantine Cultural  

1. The isolation of people who either have a contagious disease or have been exposed to one, in an attempt to prevent the spread of the disease.

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Discover More

The term is sometimes used politically to designate the political and economic isolation of a nation in retribution for unacceptable policies: “When Iraq invaded Kuwait, it was placed in quarantine by the nations of the world.”

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• prequarantine
  noun
• quarantiner
  noun
• quarantinable
  adjective
• unquarantined
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• quarantines
  plural

Participles

• quarantining
  present
• quarantined
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• quarantine
  simple
• quarantines
  simple
• have quarantined
  perfect
• has quarantined
  perfect
• am quarantining
  progressive
• are quarantining
  progressive
• is quarantining
  progressive
• have been quarantining
  perfect progressive
• has been quarantining
  perfect progressive

Past

• quarantined
  simple
• had quarantined
  perfect
• was quarantining
  progressive
• were quarantining
  progressive
• had been quarantining
  perfect progressive

Future

• will quarantine
  simple
• will have quarantined
  perfect
• will be quarantining
  progressive
• will have been quarantining
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of quarantine

First recorded in 1600–10; from Italian quarantina, variant of quarantena, originally Upper Italian (Venetian): “period of forty days, group of forty,” derivative of quaranta “forty,” ultimately from Latin quadrāgintā

Explanation

If you contract something highly infectious, such as pinkeye, please quarantine yourself so that you don’t infect others with it. This means you’ll have to stay in isolation and avoid contact with other people. Starting in the 16th century, a quarantine lasted specifically 40 days. The word is in fact derived from the Latin quadraginta, which means "forty." Originally, this referred to the amount of time a widow could remain in her deceased husband’s house, then referred to the period of time a ship had to wait off a country’s port if its passengers were disease-stricken. Now, it can mean a period of isolation of any length, and can be used as both a verb and a noun.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

quarantine quarantines quarantined quarantining

In the end, Price’s designer makeover came at the perfect time, concluding just before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw the family forced to quarantine inside the dwelling for weeks on end.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026

The quarantine now boarders El Cajon, Proctor Valley, Lemon Grove and McGinty Mountain— with a total of 76 square miles of San Diego County under quarantine.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026

Kenya has ordered a halt to preparations for a US-run Ebola quarantine facility, the health minister told a court Tuesday, after being held in contempt for ignoring a previous stop-work order.

From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026

Kenya's Health Minister Aden Duale has been found guilty of contempt of court over his handling of the construction of a controversial US-funded Ebola quarantine facility.

From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026

Everyone knows about the quarantine, even if it’s breached.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times

To be sure, screwworms can be contained through quarantines, tighter surveillance, and other methods.

From Barron's ● Jun. 8, 2026

The department said it had also enacted "quarantines, movement controls, and surveillance" in that area.

From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026

Before takeoff, shippers deal with complex veterinary clearances, quarantines and equine paperwork.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 14, 2026

In the fall of 1982, after two wearying years of quarantines that ultimately extended through six counties and some 3,000 square miles, California declared victory.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2024

The medical discoveries made by such brilliant scientists as Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch led to procedures such as vaccination and measures such as quarantines that, when mandated by the government, saved millions of lives.

From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday that the U.S. plans to transport all seven Americans to Germany, where they will likely continue to be quarantined.

From MarketWatch ● May 18, 2026

Two of the exposed Californians are quarantined at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2026

But a top US health official said the 17 American passengers would not necessarily be quarantined.

From Barron's ● May 11, 2026

There, they will be quarantined for 72 hours and given a full assessment, before being sent home to self-isolate for 45 days, France's Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

From BBC ● May 10, 2026

Each star system is an island in space, quarantined from its neighbors by the light-years.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

But what do we actually know about the hantavirus that has infected at least 11 people, killed three of them and led to the quarantining of dozens more across the globe?

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 16, 2026

In the U.S., some Americans who disembarked earlier in the trip and returned home before the outbreak had been made public are quarantining at home.

From MarketWatch ● May 12, 2026

Some other countries were only quarantining people from the ship for a few days before telling them to isolate at home, the minister said.

From Barron's ● May 11, 2026

Isolating infected people and quarantining households can stop the virus at the secondary stage.

From BBC ● Dec. 17, 2025

I remember lice from the boat—Mam was terrified of us kids getting it, and she checked our heads every day, quarantining us when we heard about outbreaks in other cabins.

From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline

Related Words

• block off
• sequester