germ warfare

noun

: the use of harmful microorganisms (such as bacteria) as weapons in war

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Emergent BioSolutions, which Mr. El-Hibri took public in 2006, bought up competitors in order to sell treatments for smallpox, botulism and other potential agents of germ warfare, becoming a prime federal contractor for biodefense vaccines and treatments. —Emily Langer, Washington Post, 5 May 2022

The germ warfare somehow didn’t affect women. —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 5 Mar. 2021

In the 1940s, the scientific consensus was leaning towards a concept of microscopic germ warfare, a sustained battle for survival among bacteria and fungi, all equipped with their own unique and evolutionarily refined weapons in the form of antibiotics and antifungal agents. —Rebecca Kreston, Discover Magazine, 1 Sep. 2015

In the 21st century, the practice has become a form of germ warfare. —BostonGlobe.com, 19 May 2021

The allegations of germ warfare were worldwide news in the first months of 1952. —The Economist, 3 Oct. 2020

The Soviets had a keen interest in the Marburg virus in the 1980s and managed to develop an especially lethal strain after an accident at the Vector Institute, their germ warfare center in Siberia. —Lucy Cooke, ajc, 3 July 2018

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Word History

First Known Use

1938, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

germ warfare

noun

germ war·​fare -ˈwȯr-ˌfe(ə)r 

: the use of harmful microorganisms (as bacteria) as weapons in war