superspreader
Americannoun
-
Pathology. a person who spreads a contagious disease more easily and widely than the average infected person.
About forty percent of the superspreaders had no symptoms of the virus.
Other Word Forms
- super-spreading adjective
- superspreading adjective
Etymology
Origin of superspreader
First recorded in 1970–75
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 looks like a superspreader event, with ongoing spread within the halls of residence in the universities," Hopkins added.
From Barron's • Mar. 19, 2026
"And the fact that superspreader events play such a significant role in the early stages of an epidemic supports the hypothesis that the real network of contacts is, like many other social networks, highly heterogeneous."
From Science Daily • Jan. 9, 2024
The rally was later declared a superspreader event by the National Institute of Health, and Smash Mouth said they received hate mail for performing there.
From BBC • Sep. 4, 2023
A family wedding can still turn into a superspreader event, and a commercial airline flight can be catastrophic.
From Seattle Times • May 24, 2023
Her popularity soared with her steely response to the pandemic after Mardi Gras in 2020 became an early superspreader event.
From New York Times • May 1, 2023
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
