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

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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

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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

Now Kenyans are nervously waiting to see whether they acted in time—or whether Ebola will emerge outside of Nairobi’s quarantine wards and spread through the city of 5.6 million.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026

Locked away in their quarantine pod, the isolation proved the perfect opportunity to comb through hours of archival footage, stitching a story from B-roll and memories, both of which Eleanor had plenty of.

From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026

Of 130 contacts, 128 have been traced and are now in quarantine, it added.

From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026

Kiley said Friday that one of his staff members opened an envelope containing the substance and immediately placed it in a quarantine enclosure designed for such an incident.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 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

The future historians face toilet-paper shortages, quarantines and contact tracing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 17, 2026

“If it’s true that the novel coronavirus would kill millions without shelter-in-place orders and quarantines, then the extraordinary measures being carried out in cities and states around the country are surely justified,” Bhattacharaya wrote.

From Salon ● Nov. 27, 2024

JumboTrons, always on, regardless of power shortages, display the latest warnings about floods and quarantines.

From "Legend" by Marie Lu

Ugandans returning from neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo will be quarantined for 21 days, the health ministry has said, as the country tightens restrictions to contain the spread of Ebola virus.

From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026

Amoth said the first quarantined contacts, if they remain healthy, will be allowed to go home next week after completing 21 days in isolation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026

The mayor of the town of Shelekhov, where she was reported to have died, said a local hospital had been quarantined.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

But clearly, his decision didn’t stick, and in 2020, the pair quarantined together during the pandemic, a revelation that arose when eagle-eyed fans noticed their social media content had identical backgrounds.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026

For the next sixty months I would be quarantined in the same district, seeing the same streets, the same mine dumps on the horizon, the same sky.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Oceanwide’s Hondius will be cleaned and disinfected in the Netherlands, with crew and staff quarantining, but the company hasn’t planned future sailing cancellations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 17, 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

Spain's health ministry earlier said one Spaniard who is quarantining in Madrid after being evacuated from the vessel had also provisionally tested positive for hantavirus on Monday.

From BBC ● 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

We found what turned out to be one of the last buses out of Tembisa, for the police were quarantining the ghetto, barring all company vehicles and public transportation.

From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane

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Related Words

• block off
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