outbreak

noun out·break \ ˈau̇t-ˌbrāk \

|Updated on: 4 Aug 2018

Examples: outbreak in a Sentence

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

Wisconsin is included in a new Cyclospora illness outbreak, this one associated with salads from McDonald's restaurants.

— rick barrett, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Wisconsin included in Cyclospora outbreak tied to McDonald's salads," 14 July 2018
New York has the most cases in this outbreak, 11, followed by Pennsylvania (eight), Massachusetts (seven) and California (six).

— david j. neal, miamiherald, "Recalled cereal in expanding salmonella outbreak illegally still being sold, FDA says," 12 July 2018
Across the country more than 55 people have died in the outbreak, which is associated with homelessness and illicit drug use.

— shari rudavsky, Indianapolis Star, "Indiana sees first death in multi-state hepatitis A outbreak," 11 July 2018
The behemoth piece of farm equipment has been MIA since an outbreak of severe weather in southeast Montana and western South Dakota, according to the National Weather Service, which surveyed the storm damage the following morning.

— angela fritz, Washington Post, "Missing: Five-ton tractor, last seen tossed by tornado on South Dakota farm," 3 July 2018
After struggling to bring back diners following multiple illness outbreaks, Chipotle has recently started to see better results under Niccol, who took the helm in March.

— bloomberg, latimes.com, "Chipotle's CEO is drawing from his Taco Bell playbook," 28 June 2018
This year Brazil had its worst outbreak of yellow fever since the 1940s; 237 people have died.

— The Economist, "[CORRECTED] Polio returns to Venezuela, and threatens the region," 16 June 2018
The whole game takes place in a small slice of London in 1918, and covers four districts each decimated by the war, an outbreak of Spanish flu, and, oh yeah, a scourge of undead vampires in neverending search of blood.

— andrew webster, The Verge, "Vampyr is a gothic RPG that makes you feel guilty for killing," 8 June 2018
Russia has also been heavily affected by the recent outbreak, with more than 800 cases reported in 2018.

— mark lieber, CNN, "Measles vaccine recommended for those attending World Cup," 6 June 2018

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.