plural coronaviruses
Definition of coronavirus
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
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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Time Traveler for coronavirus
The first known use of coronavirus was in 1968
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