polio

noun

po·​lio ˈpō-lē-ˌō 

: an infectious disease especially of young children that is caused by the poliovirus

Note: Individuals infected with the poliovirus are often asymptomatic. In approximately 25% of cases, polio presents as a mild to moderate illness marked by headache, fever, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, and fatigue. Polio affects the central nervous system only infrequently with inflammation and sometimes destruction of the motor neurons in the gray matter of the spinal cord and brain stem. Central nervous system involvement results in temporary or permanent muscle weakness or motor paralysis especially of the limbs and typically the legs. Polio may become life-threatening when paralysis affects the muscles involved in breathing and swallowing.

And the dreaded disease polio was virtually eliminated in 1955 when the Salk vaccine was approved for public use.

—Mary Beth Norton et al.

The longstanding quest to eradicate polio is attracting a new injection of funds from donors around the world, as health leaders grapple with obstacles from ridding conflict areas of the virus to a shortage of vaccine.

—Betsy McKay

called also infantile paralysis, poliomyelitis

see post-polio syndrome

polio-like

ˈpō-lē-ˌō-ˌlīk 

adjective

or poliolike

a polio-like disease

polio-like paralysis

Examples of polio in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The school once contributed to the eradication of smallpox and the development of the polio vaccine, led breakthroughs linking air pollution to lung and heart disease, and helped demonstrate the harms of trans fats. —Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 16 Oct. 2025

McConnell has walked with a limp after overcoming polio at a young age. —Lauren Peller, ABC News, 16 Oct. 2025

Lacks’ HeLa cells, which were discovered though her cervical cancer diagnosis, revolutionized virology, cancer research, and the quest for a polio vaccine. —Erin Gifford, Southern Living, 11 Oct. 2025

The congressman, who survived a childhood bout with polio, has not faced rumors or critical stories about his age the way that some other septuagenarian lawmakers have. —David Weigel, semafor.com, 8 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

short for poliomyelitis

First Known Use

1911, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing polio

• polio virus
• post-polio syndrome

Rhymes for polio

• acknow
• aglow
• ago
• airglow
• aloe
• altho
• although
• ammo
• backflow
• backhoe
• banjo
• barbeau

Kids Definition

polio

noun

po·​lio ˈpō-lē-ˌō 

: poliomyelitis

Medical Definition

polio

noun

po·​lio ˈpō-lē-ˌō 

: an infectious disease especially of young children that is caused by the poliovirus

Note: Individuals infected with the poliovirus are often asymptomatic. In approximately 25% of cases, polio presents as a mild to moderate illness marked by headache, fever, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, and fatigue. Polio affects the central nervous system only infrequently with inflammation and sometimes destruction of the motor neurons in the gray matter of the spinal cord and brain stem. Central nervous system involvement results in temporary or permanent muscle weakness or flaccid paralysis of muscles especially of the limbs and typically the legs. Polio may become life-threatening when paralysis affects the muscles involved in breathing and swallowing.

Thanks to the Salk and Sabin vaccines, the specter of crippling polio that once made summers an apprehensive time for Americans has long since passed.

—People Weekly

While the last case of naturally occurring polio in the United States was in 1979, the disease remains prevalent in other areas of the world.

—Evan Johnson, The Addison County (Vermont) Independent

called also infantile paralysis, poliomyelitis

see post-polio syndrome