human papillomavirus

noun

: any of numerous papillomaviruses (as of the genera Alphapapillomavirus, Betapapillomavirus, and Gammapapillomavirus) that cause various human papillomas (such as genital warts and plantar warts) and include some associated with the production of human cancer

—abbreviation HPV

Examples of human papillomavirus in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Women will then mail the sample to a lab that will screen for HPV (human papillomavirus), the virus that causes nearly all cervical cancers. —Jennifer Ludden, NPR, 10 May 2025

In 2013, the Japanese government suspended its HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccination program after reports emerged that some young women were experiencing menstrual changes and other side effects. —Tom Rogers, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Apr. 2025

Some of those issues have stemmed from slowing sales in China of its human papillomavirus vaccine, known as Gardasil. —Samantha Subin, CNBC, 8 Dec. 2024

Similarly, in a study of women who were immunized against the human papillomavirus at age 12 or 13, none developed the disease later. —Deborah Fuller, The Conversation, 28 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1952, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for human papillomavirus

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

Medical Definition

human papillomavirus

noun

: a double-stranded DNA virus of the genus Papillomavirus (species Human papillomavirus) that has numerous genotypes causing various human warts (as the common warts of the extremities, plantar warts, and genital warts) including some associated with the production of cervical cancer

called also HPV