swine flu
Americannoun
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a form of influenza that afflicts pigs.
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a form of influenza that afflicts humans by infection with a virus once thought to be very similar to the influenza virus found in North American pigs.
Etymology
Origin of swine flu
First recorded in 1920–25
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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.
There have been nine such declarations, including the Ebola outbreak in 2013, the COVID-19 pandemic and the swine flu pandemic in 2009.
From MarketWatch ● May 17, 2026
During the flu season that ended in September, 280 children died from flu — the most since the swine flu pandemic season of 2009-10.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 23, 2025
The report said the UK government and its advisers had been “lulled” into a false sense of security by the swine flu pandemic of 2011, which turned out to be mild.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2024
The 1918 swine flu virus H1N1, which killed an estimated 20 million people, had both mammalian and avian genetics.
From Salon ● Jun. 19, 2024
It’s like they have the swine flu and are trying to avoid germs.
From "Love, Hate & Other Filters" by Samira Ahmed
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.
