walking pneumonia

American  

[waw-king noo-mohn-yuh, -moh-nee-uh, nyoo-] / ˈwɔ kɪŋ nʊˈmoʊn yə, -ˈmoʊ ni ə, nyʊ- /

noun

1. a type or case of pneumonia that is relatively mild and thus typically does not require the infected person to be hospitalized or confined to a bed.

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Etymology

Origin of walking pneumonia

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

Because this was the family’s busy season, he insisted on working despite a bad cold that turned into walking pneumonia, Louis Jr. said.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 18, 2025

When Lakeisha Preston in Mississippi was diagnosed with walking pneumonia in 2019, she ended up with a $4,500 medical bill she couldn’t pay.

From Salon • Oct. 31, 2024

Kathryn Vaughn, an art teacher in Covington, Tenn., works at a rural elementary school that’s so understaffed that she’s kept teaching — with a mask — even with RSV and walking pneumonia.

From Washington Post • Nov. 15, 2022

A doctor said Blakely was tested for several things, including influenza and walking pneumonia, but the results came back negative.

From Fox News • Mar. 9, 2020

Whatever he had, it was clearly more than a cold—perhaps a bronchial infection or walking pneumonia.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown