chicken pox

noun

: an acute contagious disease especially of children marked by low-grade fever and formation of vesicles and caused by a herpesvirus (species Human herpesvirus 3 of the genus Varicellovirus) compare shingles

Examples of chicken pox in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web She’s seen an uptick in varicella, also known as chicken pox, and even some parasitic problems caused by poor drinking water that migrants have consumed on their journeys to the United States. Julia Ainsley, NBC News, 27 Jan. 2024 Last year in Montana, two people — an infant and a young adult — required hospitalization from chicken pox. Cara Lynn Shultz, Peoplemag, 9 June 2023 The virus that causes chicken pox, for example, can trigger shingles many years later. Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 13 Feb. 2024 The rate of Covid-19 hospitalizations and deaths in kids is higher than pre-vaccine rates for chicken pox and meningitis, vaccine-preventable diseases for which there are universal vaccine recommendations. Jennifer Beam Dowd, STAT, 13 Oct. 2023 Shingles is a reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus – the same virus that causes chicken pox — according to the Mayo Clinic. Cara Lynn Shultz, Peoplemag, 13 June 2023 Evers’ administration wanted to require parents seeking a chicken pox vaccination exemption to provide proof that their child has previously been infected. Chicago Tribune, 7 June 2023 Advertisement But the dynamic changed once Feinstein announced March 2 that she was hospitalized with shingles, a viral infection related to chicken pox that is painful but not life-threatening. Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu, Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr. 2023 Ramsay Hunt syndrome is not contagious; however, reactivation of the varicella zoster virus can cause chicken pox in people who have never had chicken pox or haven’t been vaccinated for it. L'oreal Thompson Payton, Fortune Well, 3 Mar. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'chicken pox.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1691, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of chicken pox was in 1691

Dictionary Entries Near chicken pox

Cite this Entry

“Chicken pox.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chicken%20pox. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

chicken pox

noun
: a contagious virus disease especially of children marked by low fever and a rash or small watery blisters

Medical Definition

chicken pox

noun
: an acute contagious disease especially of children that is marked by low-grade fever and formation of vesicles and that is caused by a herpesvirus of the genus Varicellovirus (species Human herpesvirus 3)

called also varicella

see shingles

More from Merriam-Webster on chicken pox

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