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

During the last peak in oil prices in 2022, Fulton said, some of that sticker shock was offset by the fact that more freight was on the road because consumers were buying more goods to accommodate new stay-at-home lifestyles set in motion by the coronavirus pandemic. —John Aguilar, Denver Post, 29 Mar. 2026

Finland's president, Alexander Stubb, warned in an interview with Politico this week that the Iran war could trigger a global recession that is worse for the economy than the coronavirus pandemic. —Npr Staff, NPR, 27 Mar. 2026

More than 1 million people—a tenth of the population—have fled since the coronavirus pandemic. —Quico Toro, The Atlantic, 27 Mar. 2026

Among the communications were tense conversations about the coronavirus vaccine that the Biden administration had with Facebook’s parent company Meta and X, formerly Twitter. —Jessica Guynn, USA Today, 26 Mar. 2026

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

Rhymes for coronavirus

• adenovirus
• baculovirus
• enterovirus
• poliovirus
• antivirus
• herpesvirus
• parvovirus
• reovirus
• retrovirus
• rhinovirus
• rotavirus
• cytomegalovirus

Kids Definition

coronavirus

noun

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

1

: a virus that infects birds and many mammals including humans

2

: an illness caused by a coronavirus

especially : covid-19

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 feline infectious peritonitis, COVID-19, MERS, and SARS

Coronaviruses are a large, diverse group of viruses that affect many animal species. A few of these viruses cause a wide range of respiratory illness in humans, typically with "common cold" symptoms.

—The Journal of the American Medical Association

—abbreviation CoV, CV

2

: an illness caused by a coronavirus

especially : covid-19

—abbreviation CV