delta variant
noun
variants
or less commonly Delta variant
: a highly transmissible genetic variant of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus
Since the summer, independently owned restaurants and music venues in Colorado have instituted their own vaccine protocols in response to the spread of the highly contagious delta variant.—
Christine Ricciardi
Christine RicciardiExperts have said that Omicron appears to be causing less severe disease in people than the Delta variant did.—Ed Browne
Ed Brownecalled also delta, delta virus
Examples of delta variant in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Two months later, a wave of the delta variant of COVID-19 killed a quarter million Indians between April and July.
—Stephen Humphries, Christian Science Monitor, 2 Aug. 2025
The participants had infections stemming from COVID-19 variants like the original strain from 2020, the delta variant and the omicron variant.
—Joseph Choi, The Hill, 6 Jan. 2025
That summer, the delta variant spread rapidly across the U.S., followed by the omicron variant in the winter.
—Frederick N. Rasmussen, Baltimore Sun, 23 Nov. 2024
That summer the delta variant of the virus ripped through the U.S., followed by omicron in the winter, leading to hundreds of thousands of additional deaths.
—CBS News, 22 Nov. 2024
Overall, the study found that about 5.3 percent of vaccinated people infected when the delta variant was circulating went on to get long COVID, compared with 3.5 percent of individuals infected later in the pandemic when the omicron variant was circulating.
—Lisa Rapaport, EverydayHealth.com, 23 July 2024
The original virus first detected in Wuhan, China, was replaced by the alpha variant, which was replaced by the delta variant, which was replaced by the omicron variant.
—Lisa Krieger, The Denver Post, 11 June 2024
That’s when the rapid spread of the delta variant of COVID-19 threatened to renew all the pandemic-era anxieties that had been quieted by widespread vaccine adoption.
—Melvin Backman, Quartz, 16 Feb. 2024
That overlapped with the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the delta variant of COVID-19, which seemed to put an end to Biden's honeymoon period.
—Leah Askarinam, ABC News, 30 Nov. 2023
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Stephen Humphries, Christian Science Monitor, 2 Aug. 2025
The participants had infections stemming from COVID-19 variants like the original strain from 2020, the delta variant and the omicron variant.
—Joseph Choi, The Hill, 6 Jan. 2025
That summer, the delta variant spread rapidly across the U.S., followed by the omicron variant in the winter.
—Frederick N. Rasmussen, Baltimore Sun, 23 Nov. 2024
That summer the delta variant of the virus ripped through the U.S., followed by omicron in the winter, leading to hundreds of thousands of additional deaths.
—CBS News, 22 Nov. 2024
Overall, the study found that about 5.3 percent of vaccinated people infected when the delta variant was circulating went on to get long COVID, compared with 3.5 percent of individuals infected later in the pandemic when the omicron variant was circulating.
—Lisa Rapaport, EverydayHealth.com, 23 July 2024
The original virus first detected in Wuhan, China, was replaced by the alpha variant, which was replaced by the delta variant, which was replaced by the omicron variant.
—Lisa Krieger, The Denver Post, 11 June 2024
That’s when the rapid spread of the delta variant of COVID-19 threatened to renew all the pandemic-era anxieties that had been quieted by widespread vaccine adoption.
—Melvin Backman, Quartz, 16 Feb. 2024
That overlapped with the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the delta variant of COVID-19, which seemed to put an end to Biden's honeymoon period.
—Leah Askarinam, ABC News, 30 Nov. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Delta variant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/delta%20variant. Accessed 4 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
delta variant
noun
variants
also Delta variant
: a highly transmissible genetic variant of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus
Citing the highly transmissible delta variant, President Biden ordered the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for long-term care staff …—Hospital Employee Health
Hospital Employee HealthMaine hospitals managed to stay staffed even as hospital beds and intensive care units filled with patients through the monthslong coronavirus surge driven by the delta variant …—Peter McGuire and Hannah LaClaire, Portland (Maine) Press Herald
Peter McGuire and Hannah LaClaire, Portland (Maine) Press Herald… available data indicate that Omicron tends to cause less severe symptoms than the previously dominant Delta variant …—Luke Money et al., Los Angeles Times
Luke Money et al., Los Angeles Timescalled also delta, delta virus
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
