Definition of infect
transitive verb
1 : to contaminate with a disease-producing substance or agent (such as bacteria)
2a : to communicate a pathogen or a disease tob of a pathogenic organism : to invade (an individual or organ) usually by penetrationc of a computer virus : to become transmitted and copied to (a device, such as a computer)
3a : contaminate, corrupt the inflated writing that infects such storiesb : to work upon or seize upon so as to induce sympathy, belief, or support trying to infect their salespeople with their enthusiasm
From the M-W Editors
Examples of infect in a Sentence
If you're sick you should stay home to avoid infecting other people in the office.
The virus has infected many people.
They were unable to prevent bacteria from infecting the wound.
Her enthusiasm has infected everyone.
The virus has infected many computers.
All the computers in the office were infected by the same virus.
Recent Examples of infect from the Web
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Powell said she was infected with the antibiotic-resistant bacteria methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in 2012.
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Sears Holdings Corp. said in a blog post late Wednesday that Kmart’s store payment systems were recently infected with virus-like computer code undetectable by current anti-virus systems.
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Hundreds of thousands of people are believed to be infected each year.
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Since last week, vets at the University of Florida confirmed more than a dozen dogs have been infected after participating in dog shows in DeLand and Perry, Georgia between May 19 and May 27.
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In 2016, approximately 20 cases of bat exposure were reported to the health department; 12 bats were available for rabies testing and luckily none of those tested were found to be infected.
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Although Zika was first identified in 1947, the virus wasn’t considered a major health threat until a major outbreak in Brazil in 2015 revealed that Zika can lead to severe birth defects when pregnant women are infected.
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One man with bird flu, for example, once infected 17 people on a flight.
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ISIS may take the sectarianism to an ultimate conclusion, but before ISIS ever existed in Egypt, a vile sectarianism had already infected far too much of the pro-Islamist universe.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'infect'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of infect
Middle English, from Latin infectus, past participle of inficere, from in- + facere to make, do — more at do
INFECT Defined for English Language Learners
infect
playDefinition of infect for English Language Learners
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: to cause (someone or something) to become sick or affected by disease
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: to cause (someone) to feel an emotion
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of an emotion : to spread to (other people)
INFECT Defined for Kids
infect
playDefinition of infect for Students
infected
;infecting
1 : to pass on or introduce a germ, illness, or disease to : to cause sickness in Don't infect me with your cold. The bacteria can infect wounds.
2 : to cause to share similar feelings Her enthusiasm infects the other players.
Medical Dictionary
Learn More about infect
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See words that rhyme with infect Spanish Central: Translation of infect Nglish: Translation of infect for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of infect for Arabic speakers
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