viral

[ vahy-ruhl ]
See synonyms for viral on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. of, relating to, or caused by a virus.

  2. pertaining to or involving the spreading of information and opinions about a product or service from person to person, especially on the internet or in emails: a clever viral ad.: See also viral marketing.

  1. becoming very popular by circulating quickly from person to person, especially through the internet: the most memorable viral videos;This book is already viral two weeks before its official publication date.

  2. pertaining to a computer virus.

Idioms about viral

  1. go viral, to spread rapidly via the internet, email, or other media: Footage of the candidate's off-color remarks went viral within minutes.

Origin of viral

1
First recorded in 1935–40; vir(us) + -al1

Other words from viral

  • an·ti·vi·ral, adjective

Words that may be confused with viral

Words Nearby viral

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use viral in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for viral

viral

/ (ˈvaɪrəl) /


adjective
  1. of, relating to, or caused by a virus

  2. (of a video, image, story, etc) spread quickly and widely among internet users via social networking sites, e-mail, etc

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