SARS-CoV-2

noun

ˈsärz-kō-ˈvē-ˈtü 

: a strain of the coronavirus (Betacoronavirus pandemicum) that is the causative agent of COVID-19 compare sars-cov-1

Examples of SARS-CoV-2 in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

And a comprehensive 2024 study in the journal Cell looked at samples from a wet market in Wuhan, finding that those that tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus clustered around a stall where live animals were sold. — Eric McDaniel, NPR, 6 Aug. 2026

Baric worked closely with researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which many adherents to the lab-leak theory posit as the source of the pandemic; one contingent thinks that Baric might have been the creator of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. — Daniel Engber, The Atlantic, 7 July 2026

During Covid-19, the world mobilized unprecedented resources to develop SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics. — Krutika Kuppalli, STAT, 1 July 2026

Developing a vaccine within 100 days of SARS-CoV-2’s arrival, for example, would have saved more than 8 million lives, CEPI calculates. — Veronique Greenwood, Time, 19 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

2020, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

SARS-CoV-2

noun

ˈsärz-kō-ˈvē-ˈtü 

: a strain of the coronavirus (Betacoronavirus pandemicum) that is the causative agent of COVID-19 see delta variant, omicron variant compare sars-cov-1