black death

noun, often capitalized B&D

Definition of black death

1 : plague sense 2b

2 : a severe epidemic of plague and especially bubonic plague that occurred in Asia and Europe in the 14th century

Examples of black death in a Sentence

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Opening up and breaking the silence is a start, because white silence is black death. — Glamour, "Broken Harts, Episode 6: "Beautiful Black Boys"," 15 Jan. 2019 Unfortunately, the nation of 24 million has a point of infamy these days: The island nation is the site of the black death, the very same plague that decimated Europe many centuries ago. — Angela Helm, The Root, "124 Dead in Outbreak of the Bubonic Plague in Madagascar (We Kid You Not)," 25 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'black death.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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The first known use of black death was in 1755

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More Definitions for black death

black death

noun

variants: or Black Death

Medical Definition of black death

: plague sense 2 also : a severe epidemic of plague and especially bubonic plague that occurred in Asia and Europe in the 14th century

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