omicron

noun

om·i·cron ˈō-mə-ˌkrän

ˈä-mə-ˌkrän

British also ō-ˈmī-(ˌ)krän

plural omicrons

: the 15th letter of the Greek alphabet see Alphabet Table

or less commonly Omicron : omicron variant

The speed of omicron's rise is quicker than the rise of previous variants of the virus, said Hannah Barbian, a Rush University Medical Center virologist who worked on the testing.—

Sarah Freishtat

How a Virus Got Its Name: Usage Guide

In November 2021, a COVID-19 variant was named Omicron, after the 15th letter of the Greek alphabet. The World Health Organization uses Greek letters to name variants, because these names are easier to communicate than scientific designations like B.1.617.2. According to the WHO, the 13th and 14th Greek letters (nu and xi) were skipped over because "nu" sounds like "new," and "xi" is also a common surname.

How to Pronounce Omicron: Usage Guide

The pronunciation of omicron has several variant forms acceptable in standard English. In American English, the primary stress is usually on the first syllable, pronounced as either a short \o\ as \ˈä-mə-ˌkrän\ or a long \o\ as \ˈō-mə-ˌkrän\. In British English, the primary stress can also be heard on the second syllable: \ō-ˈmī-(ˌ)krän\.

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web The latest shots were reformulated last year to target the BA.4 and BA.5 strains of omicron that were dominant in the fall. —

Madison Muller, Fortune, 18 Apr. 2023 The reason the delta wave and the original form of covid seem more likely to produce such symptoms than the more recent omicron and its subvariants is not fully understood. —

Amy Goldstein, Dan Keating, Anchorage Daily News, 18 Mar. 2023 In this case, XBB is a combination of the omicron subvariants BA.2.10.1 and BA.2.75. —

Dallas News, 4 Jan. 2023 Still, the possibility of such outbreaks remains, and the virus continues to evolve, with the latest omicron subvariants XBB.1.5, now predominant nationally, and XBB.1.16 gaining ground. —

Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 3 May 2023 Whether the approach will be successful remains to be seen, with eliminating the more contagious omicron a tougher task than with the original virus. —

Fortune, 10 Nov. 2022 But the emergence of new viral variants, particularly omicron and its array of subvariants, upended those expectations. —

Matthew Woodruff, The Conversation, 25 Jan. 2023 On the other hand, children have borne a huge brunt of the pandemic at other times—kids ages 0 to 4 were five times more likely to be hospitalized during the winter 2021 omicron wave than during previous waves. —

Margaret Osborne, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 June 2022 As for the threat of the BA.2 omicron subvariant, Matthews said her cruise line is prepared. —

Tammy Stables Battaglia, Detroit Free Press, 24 Apr. 2022 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'omicron.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.