measles

noun, plural in form but singular or plural in construction

mea·sles | \ ˈmē-zəlz

Definition of measles

1a : an acute contagious disease that is caused by a morbillivirus (species Measles virus) and is marked especially by an eruption of distinct red circular spots

— called also rubeola

b : any of various eruptive diseases (such as German measles)

2 [ Middle English mesel infested with tapeworms, literally, leprous, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin misellus leper, from Latin, wretch, from misellus, diminutive of miser miserable ] : infestation with or disease caused by larval tapeworms in the muscles and tissues

Examples of measles in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This launch comes at the same time a measles outbreak has hit the United States, reaching more than 1,200 confirmed cases across 31 states since the beginning of the year. — Jacqueline Howard, CNN, "Facebook debuts vaccine pop-up windows to stop the spread of misinformation," 4 Sep. 2019 For example, there have been more measles cases this year than in any year since the disease was declared eradicated in 2000. — Colleen Stinchcombe, SELF, "I Have a Compromised Immune System—I Rely on Herd Immunity to Live," 26 Aug. 2019 On Tuesday the county Health and Human Services agency notified the public of the second measles case detected in the region this year. — Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Third location listed in measles exposure warning," 20 Aug. 2019 So far, no measles cases have been reported in Alabama, and the state has a low vaccine exemption rate. — al, "Thousands of Alabama students enroll without vaccine records," 18 Aug. 2019 Pan introduced the bill amid a national measles outbreak, in which more than 1,000 Americans have been infected. — Melody Gutierrez, latimes.com, "California vaccine bill clears Assembly panel despite emotional backlash from parents," 20 June 2019 Over 130,000 measles cases have been reported this year so far, even though vaccines can easily prevent the disease’s spread. — Katharine Walter, The New Republic, "Ebola Outbreaks Are About Inequality," 8 Aug. 2019 Acute encephalitis, a dangerous brain inflammation, occurs in about 1 in 1,000 measles cases. — Nara Schoenberg, chicagotribune.com, "As vaccine opposition grows, survivors of measles, mumps and rubella warn of lifelong effects, including vision loss, deafness: ‘How different my life would have been’," 19 July 2019 Sick note: The Ohio Department of Health on Friday reported the state’s first confirmed measles case since 2017. — Andrew J. Tobias, cleveland.com, "Sherrod Brown, Rob Portman visit the border: Capitol Letter," 15 July 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'measles.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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8 Sep 2019

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The first known use of measles was in the 14th century

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More Definitions for measles

measles

noun

English Language Learners Definition of measles

: a disease that causes a fever and red spots on the skin

measles

noun

mea·sles | \ ˈmē-zəlz

Kids Definition of measles

1 : a contagious disease in which there are fever and red spots on the skin

2 : any of several diseases (as German measles ) resembling true measles

measles

noun plural but singular or plural in construction

mea·sles | \ ˈmē-zəlz

Medical Definition of measles

1a : an acute contagious disease that is caused by a paramyxovirus of the genus Morbillivirus (species Measles virus), that commences with catarrhal symptoms, conjunctivitis, cough, and Koplik's spots on the oral mucous membrane, and that is marked by the appearance on the third or fourth day of an eruption of distinct red circular spots which coalesce in a crescentic form, are slightly raised, and after the fourth day of the eruption gradually decline

— called also rubeola

b : any of various eruptive diseases (as German measles)

2 : infestation with or disease caused by larval tapeworms in the muscles and tissues specifically : infestation of cattle and swine with cysticerci of tapeworms that as adults parasitize humans — compare measle