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superspreader

American  
[soo-per-spred-er] / ˈsu pərˌsprɛd ər /
Or super-spreader

noun

  1. 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.

  2. superspreading event.


Other Word Forms


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.

See Examples For:

However, this practice could act as a superspreader event – where a disease infects an unusually high number of people or animals – of the H5N1 virus.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 24, 2026

Alfonsi has reported on a range of subjects, including the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, a Covid superspreader event, the jailhouse death of Jeffrey Epstein and student survivors of the Parkland, Fla., school shooting.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 27, 2026

“Even in Argentina there, my recollection is there have been about three superspreader events,” said Gregory Mertz, an infectious-disease doctor at the University of New Mexico’s Health Sciences Center who studies the hantavirus.

From MarketWatch ● May 5, 2026

"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

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

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