rhinovirus

American

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

noun

plural

rhinoviruses

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

rhinovirus British

/ ˈraɪnəʊˌvaɪrəs /

noun

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

"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

rhinovirus Scientific

/ rī′nō-vī′rəs /

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

Etymology

Origin of rhinovirus

First recorded in 1960–65; rhino- + virus

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"This research allowed us to peer into the human nasal lining and see what is happening during rhinovirus infections at both the cellular and molecular levels."

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

Has that sped up the prospect of a rhinovirus vaccine at all?

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

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023