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.

---

rhinovirus British  

/ ˈraɪnəʊˌvaɪrəs /

noun

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

---

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.

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• rhinoviruses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of rhinovirus

First recorded in 1960–65; rhino- + virus

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rhinovirus rhinoviruses

"Our experiments show how critical and effective a rapid interferon response is in controlling rhinovirus infection, even without any cells of the immune system present," says first author Bao Wang of Yale School of Medicine.

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

And the reason there is not a rhinovirus vaccine is because there are about 180 different rhinoviruses circulating, and they’re all distinct from each other.

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

Winter brings a surge of respiratory illnesses, including rhinoviruses, the most frequent cause of the common cold.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 19, 2026

The test positivity rate for rhinoviruses and enteroviruses, which typically cause the common cold, is 19.87%.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2025

We did look at developing an mRNA vaccine for rhinoviruses, but in the end, we decided to go with a protein vaccine with an adjuvant.

From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2025

Untangling such interference hasn’t been easy given the number of respiratory viruses—coronaviruses, rhinoviruses, adenoviruses, RSV, and influenza are just among the best known—and the many infections that escape notice.

From Science Magazine ● Nov. 17, 2022

But scientists have also documented numerous instances in which human pathogens, including the rhinoviruses and coronaviruses responsible for common colds, found their way into great apes.

From New York Times ● Feb. 21, 2022