sore throat

American

noun

Pathology.

a painful or sensitive condition of the throat exaggerated by swallowing or talking, usually caused by bacteria or viruses; laryngitis; pharyngitis; tonsillitis.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

sore throats

plural

Etymology

Origin of sore throat

First recorded in 1680–90

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.

See Examples For:

sore throat

Professor Vasilev noticed that eating peppermint leaves from his drink significantly eased his sore throat.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026

Misbah, a 23-year-old mother from nearby Pengayuan village, said her three-year-old daughter had developed "a cough, a sore throat and a runny nose" during the haze.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

The third day of the fire, he woke up with a runny nose, sore throat and chapped lips, he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026

Early symptoms resemble those of other, more common diseases: fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headache and sore throat.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026

I didn’t believe for one minute that he had a sore throat.

From "Silent To The Bone" by E.L. Konigsburg

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