outbreak

play

noun out·break \ ˈau̇t-ˌbrāk \

Definition of outbreak

1 a :a sudden or violent increase in activity or currency

the outbreak of war

b :a sudden rise in the incidence of a disease

an outbreak of measles

c :a sudden increase in numbers of a harmful organism and especially an insect within a particular area

an outbreak of locusts

2 :insurrection, revolt

See outbreak defined for English-language learners

See outbreak defined for kids

Examples of outbreak in a Sentence

there was an immediate outbreak of paper shuffling and a pretense of work when the supervisor passed through the room
the government quelled the outbreak with ruthless efficiency

Recent Examples of outbreak from the Web

Erinn Williams is the lead field investigator for the Oklahoma City outbreak.

— jan hoffman, The Seattle Times, "Once thought all but conquered, syphilis has come roaring back," 24 Aug. 2017
The committee recognized the health department's communications regarding a multistate outbreak of the Seoul virus in early 2017.

— michelle mullins, Naperville Sun, "Naperville News Digest," 11 Aug. 2017
Her government is struggling to revive an economy after an outbreak of Ebola in 2014 lasted for more than a year while prices of iron ore, the country’s largest source of foreign currency, slumped.

— festus poquie, Bloomberg.com, "Liberia Elections Body Says 20 Candidates Will Vie for President," 31 July 2017
One of last year’s biggest challenges came in the late summer with the outbreak of Zika.

— by andrea januta, miamiherald, "Looking for a job? South Florida jobs report has good news," 21 July 2017
Hepatitis A can be prevented through vaccination, and that has been the agency’s main strategy for stopping the outbreak.

— paul sisson, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Huge hepatitis outbreak claims fifth victim in San Diego County," 12 July 2017
Lessons learned in 2014 have already been put into action in Congo, where a recent Ebola outbreak that caused four deaths ended in 42 days.

— erin blakemore, Washington Post, "When Ebola broke out in West Africa, the world sprang into action," 8 July 2017
Since a severe outbreak began in late April, according to Unicef, cholera has spread to 21 of the country’s 22 provinces, infecting at least 269,608 people and killing at least 1,614.

— shuaib almosawa and nour youssef, New York Times, "Cholera Spreads as War and Poverty Batter Yemen," 7 July 2017
The world’s youngest country faces the simultaneous scourges of civil war, famine and a cholera outbreak.

— conor gaffey, MSNBC Newsweek, "The Devastating Human Cost of Famine in South Sudan," 4 July 2017

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