cholera

noun

chol·​era ˈkä-lə-rə 

: any of several diseases of humans and domestic animals usually marked by severe gastrointestinal symptoms

especially : an acute diarrheal disease caused by an enterotoxin produced by a comma-shaped gram-negative bacillus (Vibrio cholerae synonym V. comma) when it is present in large numbers in the proximal (see proximal sense 2) part of the human small intestine

Examples of cholera in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In late-nineteenth-century New York, garbage was dumped in the streets, and cholera and yellow fever raged. — Rana Mitter, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026

Those ships had come from Latin America, which at the time was grappling with an outbreak of cholera. — Christopher Cann, USA Today, 2 Aug. 2026

Most patients can recover from cholera with this solution alone. — Katrine L. Wallace, The Conversation, 29 July 2026

Come what may—an inconvenient husband, a cholera epidemic—the novel asks, does love ever expire? — Literary Hub, 14 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin, "acute gastroenteritis," borrowed from Greek choléra — more at choler

First Known Use

1601, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing cholera

• Asiatic cholera
• cholera morbus
• hog cholera

Kids Definition

cholera

noun

chol·​era ˈkäl-ə-rə 

: any of several diseases usually marked by severe vomiting and diarrhea

Medical Definition

cholera

noun

chol·​era ˈkäl-ə-rə 

: any of several diseases of humans and domestic animals usually marked by severe gastrointestinal symptoms: as

a

: an acute diarrheal disease caused by an enterotoxin produced by various strains of a comma-shaped gram-negative bacterium of the genus Vibrio (V. cholerae) when it is present in large numbers in the proximal part of the human small intestine see asiatic cholera

b

: fowl cholera

c

: hog cholera

choleraic

ˌkäl-ə-ˈrā-ik 

adjective