coronavirus

noun

co·​ro·​na·​vi·​rus kə-ˈrō-nə-ˌvī-rəs 

plural coronaviruses

1

: any of a family (Coronaviridae) of large single-stranded RNA viruses that have a lipid envelope studded with club-shaped spike proteins, infect birds and many mammals including humans, and include the causative agents of MERS, SARS, and COVID-19

Coronaviruses can cause a variety of illnesses in animals, but in people coronaviruses cause one-third of common colds and sometimes respiratory infections in premature infants.

—Rob Stein

… in 2003 a previously unknown coronavirus caused an outbreak of SARS in humans.

—Ali Moh Zaki et al.

—abbreviation CoV, CV

2

: an illness caused by a coronavirus

especially : covid-19

Italy has seen the most coronavirus cases in Europe, with more than 2,000 people ill and 76 deaths associated with COVID-19.

—Dayton (Ohio) Daily News

—abbreviation CV

Examples of coronavirus in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In 2020, as the world shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic, Mx. —Alix Strauss, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2024

And on Saturday, about 200 of the middle and high school students participating this year will meet in virtually — and in person for the first time since before the coronavirus pandemic — at Fairchild’s Arts Center to discuss their latest findings. —Jimena Tavel, Miami Herald, 20 Apr. 2024

The Bank of England, like the U.S. Fed and other central banks around the world, raised interest rates aggressively in late 2021 from near zero to counter price rises first stoked by supply chain issues during the coronavirus pandemic and then by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. —Pan Pylas, Quartz, 17 Apr. 2024

The coronavirus outbreak in early 2020 unleashed brutal economic blows against the hotel and lodging sector in the Bay Area and worldwide. —George Avalos, The Mercury News, 12 Apr. 2024

The Bay Area office market is undergoing seismic shifts due to the coronavirus pandemic. —George Avalos, The Mercury News, 11 Apr. 2024

Classroom hours have been severely shortened, compounding learning loss that began with the coronavirus pandemic. —Erin O’Brien, The Christian Science Monitor, 9 Apr. 2024

Prince Philip died at age 99 on April 9, 2021, in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic — which would affect almost every aspect of his funeral arrangements. —Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 9 Apr. 2024

Smalls, a former Amazon worker who co-founded the union during the coronavirus pandemic, did not respond to multiple requests for an interview. —Haleluya Hadero, Quartz, 8 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

corona + virus, later taken as New Latin

Note: The word was introduced by a group of virologists as a short article "Coronaviruses" in the "News and Views" section of Nature (vol. 220, no. 5168, November 16, 1968, p. 650): "… avian infectious bronchitis virus has a characteristic electron microscopic appearance resembling, but distinct from, that of myxoviruses. Particles are more or less rounded in profile … there is also a characteristic 'fringe' of projections 200 Å long, which are rounded or petal shaped, rather than sharp or pointed, as in the myxoviruses. This appearance, recalling the solar corona, is shared by mouse hepatitis virus … . In the opinion of the eight virologists these viruses are members of a previously unrecognized group which they suggest should be called the coronaviruses, to recall the characteristic appearance by which these viruses are identified in the electron microscope."

First Known Use

1968, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing coronavirus

• coronavirus disease 2019

Medical Definition

coronavirus

noun

co·​ro·​na·​vi·​rus kə-ˈrō-nə-ˌvī-rəs 

1

: any of a family (Coronaviridae) of large, single-stranded, RNA viruses that have a lipid envelope studded with club-shaped spike proteins , infect birds and many mammals including humans, and include the causative agents of blue comb, feline infectious peritonitis, COVID-19, MERS, and SARS

Coronaviruses can cause a variety of illnesses in animals, but in people coronaviruses cause one-third of common colds and sometimes respiratory infections in premature infants.

—Rob Stein, The Washington Post

—abbreviation CoV, CV

2

: an illness caused by a coronavirus

especially : covid-19

—abbreviation CV