epidemic
adjective
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Definition of epidemic
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : affecting or tending to affect a disproportionately large number of individuals within a population, community, or region at the same time typhoid was epidemic
2a : excessively prevalent
b : contagious sense 4 epidemic laughter
3 : characterized by very widespread growth or extent : of, relating to, or constituting an epidemic the practice had reached epidemic proportions
epidemic
noun
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Definition of epidemic (Entry 2 of 2)
1 : an outbreak of disease that spreads quickly and affects many individuals at the same time : an outbreak of epidemic disease
2 : an outbreak or product of sudden rapid spread, growth, or development an epidemic of bankruptcies
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Other Words from epidemic
Adjective
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adjective
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adverb
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noun
Synonyms for epidemic
Synonyms: Adjective
catching, contagious, infectious, spreading
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Examples of epidemic in a Sentence
Adjective
Overuse injuries—particularly in the elbows and shoulders of young pitchers—are indeed becoming epidemic. Orthopedists often blame coaches and parents for failing to monitor how many pitches kids are throwing and for not giving them time to rest their arms. — Sara Corbett, New York Times Sports Magazine, June 2006 The dream of running off to live the good life in a postcard perfect town in the mountains or by the sea often reaches epidemic proportions near the end of summer. — John Rasmus, National Geographic, September 2004 Saturday Night Fever propelled disco fever to epidemic proportions: By 1978, 40 percent of all the music on Billboard's Hot 100 was disco. — Peter Braunstein, American Heritage, November 1999 the little girl's giggles were epidemic, and soon the entire gathering was laughingNoun
Cosmetic surgery is now so prevalent that it could qualify as a national epidemic. — Toni Bentley, New York Times Book Review, 22 Oct. 2006 "Spim," as people are beginning to call unsolicited instant messages, is the latest installment in the growing epidemic of unwanted electronic ads and a further sign that unscrupulous online marketers will seek to take advantage of all of the Internet's communication tools, not limiting themselves to spam or pop-up ads. — David McGuire, www.washingtonpost.com, 13 Nov. 2003 Whatever might have motivated Kennedy to put [Ian] Fleming on his list, from that point, Bond became an international obsession. When the first Bond film appeared in 1962—Dr. No—the obsession was a full-blown craze, a cultural epidemic. — Gerald Early, New Letters, 1999
Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective
Some world leaders have backed a plan first proposed by then-German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier to create a multinational white helmet brigade that could provide security and logistical dimensions to an epidemic response. — Ron Klain, Vox, "A pandemic killing tens of millions of people is a real possibility — and we are not prepared for it," 15 Oct. 2018 And only heightened by the fact that STD rates are at an all-time high, there's no doubt that opening up the biological treatment to a wider range of women is a major stride for a health concern that's approaching epidemic proportions. — Lauren Valenti, Vogue, "The HPV Vaccine is Now Available to Women Over 27—Here’s Why It’s Great News for You," 8 Oct. 2018 Wochit As Marion County sees its hepatitis C rate soar to epidemic proportions, local health officials Thursday called for the county to start the state’s eighth syringe exchange program. — Shari Rudavsky, Indianapolis Star, "Marion County could get needle exchange program, as hepatitis C rates soar," 17 May 2018 Broward, like many other local governments across the country, is suing or considering suing the companies because of the large costs incurred as the opioid epidemic taxes local police and emergency medical services. — Larry Barszewski, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Broward sues over opioids, including Walmart, Walgreens and CVS," 15 Mar. 2018 In 2016, the World Health Organization added Lassa fever to its list of priority pathogens of epidemic potential, calling for more research. — Leslie Roberts, Science | AAAS, "Health workers scramble to contain deadly rat-borne fever in Nigeria," 12 Mar. 2018 But, the study authors, led by microbiologist Robert Britton at Baylor College of Medicine, found that the two epidemic strains had genetic tricks to live on just tiny amounts. — Beth Mole, Ars Technica, "Mysterious explosion of a deadly plague may come down to a sugar in ice cream," 10 Jan. 2018 Cunningham worked as an epidemic intelligence officer and has been deployed for a number public health emergencies. — Paula Rogo, Essence.com, "This CDC Employee Has Been Missing For Almost Two Weeks," 26 Feb. 2018 The flu is on its way out. While still at epidemic levels, the historically bad 2017-2018 season has finally started to subside. — Fortune, "America's Nightmare Flu Season Is Finally Coming to an End," 24 Feb. 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Both the White House and Democrats approved of a spending boost for infrastructure, as well as a $4.6 billion increase in funding to stop the opioid epidemic. — Adam Shaw, Fox News, "House approves $1.3 trillion spending bill; measure moves to Senate," 2 Oct. 2018 Lawsuits filed against Oxycontin maker Purdue Pharma and other drugmakers by Tennessee and Florida cast more doubt about the viability of settlement talks aimed at addressing the U.S. opioid epidemic. — Fortune, "6 More States Just Sued the Oxycontin Maker. How It Could Dramatically Alter the Price of an Opioid Settlement," 16 May 2018 Baltimore County executive Kevin Kamenetz, a candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor of Maryland, and his running mate, Valerie Ervin, talk about the opioid epidemic. — Dan Rodricks, baltimoresun.com, "Preparing for the possibility of a pandemic," 4 May 2018 Researchers and health experts are drilling down into data to help find a solution to the country’s opioid epidemic. — Jonathon Keats, Discover Magazine, "Building a Better Painkiller," 11 May 2018 Wednesday's announcement comes on the heels of a lawsuit Los Angeles officials filed last week that accuses top drug makers and distributors of deceptive marketing tactics that boosted sales and contributed to the nation's opioid epidemic. — Melissa Etehad, latimes.com, "L.A. cracks down on unlicensed and counterfeit pharmaceuticals," 9 May 2018 In response to the opioid epidemic, the VA has slashed its opioid prescription rate by 41 percent between 2012 and 2017, according to VA data. — Patrik Jonsson, The Christian Science Monitor, "As war vets enter the fray, stigma lessens around cannabis," 5 July 2018 The Midwest, Appalachia, and New England are losing the most lives to the epidemic. — Katrine Jo Andersen, The New Republic, "Rejected by A.A.," 27 June 2018 Pennsylvania and New Jersey are among 22 states that have enacted legislation to limit opioid prescribing in response to a national opioid epidemic. — Sarah Gantz, Philly.com, "Prescription opioid distribution drops in Pa., N.J.," 19 June 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'epidemic.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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Learn More about epidemic
From the Editors at Merriam-Webster
When Does an Outbreak Become an...
When Does an Outbreak Become an Epidemic?
And what about 'pandemic'?
Dictionary Entries near epidemic
Statistics for epidemic
Last Updated
24 Nov 2018
Look-up Popularity
Time Traveler for epidemic
The first known use of epidemic was in 1603
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More Definitions for epidemic
epidemic
noun
English Language Learners Definition of epidemic
medical : an occurrence in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects a large number of people
: a sudden quickly spreading occurrence of something harmful or unwanted
See the full definition for epidemic in the English Language Learners Dictionary
epidemic
noun
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Kids Definition of epidemic
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : a rapidly spreading outbreak of disease
2 : something harmful that spreads or develops rapidly a crime epidemic
epidemic
adjectiveKids Definition of epidemic (Entry 2 of 2)
: spreading widely and affecting many people at the same time an epidemic disease
epidemic
adjective
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Medical Definition of epidemic
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : affecting or tending to affect an atypically large number of individuals within a population, community, or region at the same time typhoid was epidemic — compare endemic, sporadic sense 1
2 : of, relating to, or constituting an epidemic coronary disease…has hit epidemic proportions— Herbert Ratner
Other Words from epidemic
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adverb
epidemic
nounMedical Definition of epidemic (Entry 2 of 2)
1 : an outbreak of epidemic disease
2 : a natural population (as of insects) suddenly and greatly enlarged
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