Zika
Americannoun
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Zika disease,. Zika fever,. Zika virus disease. an illness caused by a chiefly mosquito-borne virus of the genus Flavivirus , typically characterized by mild fever, rash, and joint pain.
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the virus that causes this illness; Zika virus.
Etymology
Origin of Zika
First recorded in 1950–55, Zika is from the Luganda word zika “overgrown”; the virus was first identified in a rhesus monkey in the Zika Forest in Uganda
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.
Beyond being irritating, mosquitoes spread dangerous diseases such as malaria, yellow fever, and Zika, which together cause more than 700,000 deaths each year.
From Science Daily • Mar. 22, 2026
The WHO helped eradicate smallpox, established a framework that led to a dramatic worldwide reduction in tobacco use and helped control numerous pandemics, from Ebola to mpox to Zika.
From Salon • Feb. 28, 2026
After all, this was the year that brought Brexit, the Zika virus outbreak and the deaths of David Bowie, George Michael and Prince.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 29, 2026
The Aedes mosquito, primarily Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, is responsible for transmitting chikungunya as well as other major viruses like dengue, Zika, and yellow fever.
From Science Daily • Oct. 10, 2025
Polluted air, bacteria-infested water, and the Zika virus.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
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.
