monkeypox
noun
Note: This disease was first identified in monkeys in 1958, although the natural reservoir (see reservoir sense 3a) has not been identified. The virus has been found in various animals including rodents and primates.
Note: As of 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) uses the name mpox to refer to this disease due to the stigmatizing nature of the original name.
Examples of monkeypox in a Sentence
Cindy Krischer Goodman, Sun Sentinel, 27 May 2025
Trump’s attacks on the civil service have stripped the government of the experienced public officials needed to manage public health responses; cuts to USAID, for example, have frozen its work in Africa to contain Marburg virus, monkeypox, and other diseases with pandemic potential.
—Edward Alden, Foreign Affairs, 6 Mar. 2025
The first human case of monkeypox was recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1970.
—Kizzy Cox, Essence, 16 Aug. 2024
And the stock prices of two pharmaceutical giants rose after the World Health Organization declared monkeypox a public health emergency.
—Laura Bratton, Quartz, 16 Aug. 2024
See All Example Sentences for monkeypox
Cite this Entry
“Monkeypox.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/monkeypox. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.
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monkeypox
noun
Note: As of 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) uses the name mpox to refer to this disease due to the stigmatizing nature of the original name.
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