Salk

American

[sawk, sawlk] / sɔk, sɔlk /

noun

Jonas E(dward), 1914–95, U.S. bacteriologist: developed Salk vaccine.

Salk British

/ sɔːlk /

noun

Jonas Edward. 1914–95, US virologist: developed an injected vaccine against poliomyelitis (1954)

"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

Salk Scientific

/ sôlk /

American microbiologist who in 1954 developed the first effective vaccine against polio, using an inactivated form of the virus. Salk's vaccine, which was administered by injection, was widely used until 1959 when Albert Sabin introduced an orally administered vaccine derived from a live form of the 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.

It was intended for the greatest American artists, scientists, entertainers, writers, thinkers—Robert Frost, John Ford, Jonas Salk.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 26, 2026

Researchers at the Salk Institute have now created a detailed epigenetic catalog that shows how inherited traits and life experiences affect different immune cell types in distinct ways.

From Science Daily • Feb. 11, 2026

After finishing her postdoctoral training at Salk, Brandebura plans to continue this line of research at UVA Health.

From Science Daily • Dec. 17, 2025

A new study from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies has identified a brain circuit that slows the breath to calm the mind.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 7, 2025

“Polio is a terrible disease! It left children crippled. Killed them. Salk and his group of scientists pioneered a vaccine to prevent it. He even tested it on himself.”

From "The Fourteenth Goldfish" by Jennifer L. Holm

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