rhinovirus

American  

[rahy-noh-vahy-ruhs, rahy-noh-vahy-] / ˌraɪ noʊˈvaɪ rəs, ˈraɪ noʊˌvaɪ- /

noun

rhinoviruses plural

1. any of a varied and widespread group of picornaviruses responsible for many respiratory diseases, including the common cold.

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rhinovirus British  

/ ˈraɪnəʊˌvaɪrəs /

noun

1. any of various viruses that occur in the human respiratory tract and cause diseases, such as the common cold

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rhinovirus Scientific  

/ rī′nō-vī′rəs /

1. Any of a group of viruses of the family Picornaviridae and the genus Rhinovirus that cause the common cold.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• rhinoviruses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of rhinovirus

First recorded in 1960–65; rhino- + virus

Example Sentences

When rhinovirus, the most common cause of the common cold, enters the nasal passages, the cells lining the nose immediately begin working together to fight the infection.

From Science Daily • Jan. 22, 2026

How your nasal-passage cells respond to the rhinovirus helps determine whether you get sick and how bad you feel, according to a new study published Monday in the journal Cell Press Blue.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 19, 2026

Developing antivirals is something that many companies have tried, but so far, there is not a rhinovirus antiviral that is licensed and available for use.

From Slate • Oct. 8, 2025

Contributing factors in his death were listed as COVID-19, adenovirus and rhinovirus, the autopsy showed.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 16, 2024

Imagine someone sneezing in a crowded elevator, releasing into the air ten variants of a rhinovirus, the kind of virus that causes the common cold.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann