quarantine

noun quar·an·tine \ ˈkwȯr-ən-ˌtēn , ˈkwär- \

|Updated on: 22 Jun 2018

Examples: quarantine in a Sentence

1 : a period of 40 days

2 a : a term during which a ship arriving in port and suspected of carrying contagious disease is held in isolation from the shore

b : a regulation placing a ship in quarantine

c : a place where a ship is detained during quarantine

3 a : a restraint upon the activities or communication of persons or the transport of goods designed to prevent the spread of disease or pests

b : a place in which those under quarantine are kept

4 : a state of enforced isolation

See quarantine defined for English-language learners

See quarantine defined for kids

Examples of quarantine in a Sentence

The infected people were put into quarantine.
The cows will be kept in quarantine for another week.
The dog was put under quarantine.

Recent Examples of quarantine from the Web

The husky is currently under quarantine for 10 days, before an administrative hearing with the police chief will take place to determine the dog’s fate.

— benjamin brown, Fox News, "Dog owner slapped with dozens of charges after Husky goes on animal 'killing spree'," 4 June 2018
Despite a quarantine effort, they have also been discovered in small numbers in New York, Delaware and Virginia.

— zach montague, New York Times, "Lanternflies Eat Everything in Sight. The U.S. Is Looking Delicious.," 21 May 2018
The main compartment fits a weekend’s worth of clothes, while smaller pouches quarantine shoes and undies.

— Outside Online, "The Best Men’s Travel Kit of 2018," 15 May 2018
Ohio quarantine regulations restrict the movement of hemlock materials from areas known to be infested with the hemlock woolly adelgid into noninfested Ohio counties.

— sheila vilvens, Cincinnati.com, "The latest invasive insect has 'sucking mouthparts' that kill hemlock trees," 11 May 2018
Europe's best performance dates back to 1986, when Bold Arrangement finished second to Ferdinand, despite a 36-hour quarantine period in New York followed by an 18-hour van journey to Kentucky.

— danielle rossingh, CNN, "Mendelssohn tuning up to end Europe's Kentucky Derby drought," 4 May 2018
Mackenzie Morton, 29, of Taylorsville, Utah owns the husky, which is now in a 10-day quarantine.

— matthew martinez, sacbee, "Husky got loose and tore through 27 rabbits, chickens and ducks in killing spree, Utah cops say," 2 June 2018
As for Nikita, the dog is undergoing a 10-day quarantine at an animal shelter, sometime after which Morton and the dog with attend an administrative hearing with several police officials.

— kelli bender, PEOPLE.com, "Husky Dog on the Loose Kills Close to 30 Farm Animals on Early Morning Spree," 1 June 2018
The dog is under a 10-day rabies quarantine, police said.

— kaitlyn schwers, kansascity, "'Wolf hybrid' taken by Wisconsin cops after a kid was bitten. Some defend the dog | The Kansas City Star," 23 May 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of quarantine

partly modification of French quarantaine, from Old French, from quarante forty, from Latin quadraginta, from quadra- (akin to quattuor four) + -ginta (akin to viginti twenty); partly modification of Italian quarantena quarantine of a ship, from quaranta forty, from Latin quadraginta — more at four, vigesimal

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1617

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

Other Number-Related Terms

jubilee, myriad, score, twain

quarantine

verb

quarantined; quarantining

transitive verb

1 : to detain in or exclude by quarantine

2 : to isolate from normal relations or communication

quarantine an aggressor

intransitive verb

: to establish or declare a quarantine

See quarantine defined for English-language learners

Examples of quarantine in a Sentence

The hospital quarantined the infected patients.
The dog was immediately quarantined.

Recent Examples of quarantine from the Web

They had been quarantined after they were found roaming loose, scaring neighbors.

— vincent t. davis, San Antonio Express-News, "Thousands of dog bites in S.A. include three-dozen cases against dangerous dogs," 26 May 2018
The point of the capsules is to keep those quarantined by Apollon in their safe zone.

— ariana romero, refinery29.com, "This Is The Most Important Part Of The Rain's Ending," 8 May 2018
Throughout the 19th century, most newspapers boasted an explicit partisan affiliation that was by no means quarantined to their op-ed pages.

— eric levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "‘Baby Breitbarts’ Might Be the Future of Local Newspapers," 1 May 2018
Sims confirmed to the station that many of the 54 cats being quarantined in the facility are suffering from upper respiratory infections.

— matthew martinez, star-telegram, "Disease outbreak at Texas cat cafe leads to kitty quarantine, investigation | Fort Worth Star-Telegram," 12 Apr. 2018
People have found them across the country, not in, say, an isolated valley that officials could quarantine.

— matt simon, WIRED, "Inconvenient Minifauna and the Invasion of the Hammerhead Flatworms," 25 May 2018
Nine patients that tested positive for the virus have been quarantined and are being treated, Rajeev Sadanandan, additional chief secretary for the state's Department of Health and Family Welfare, told CNN on Tuesday.

— manveena suri, CNN, "10 confirmed dead from Nipah virus outbreak in India, including nurse treating patients," 22 May 2018
The society is quarantining and treating the three dogs at its facility at 241 Steedly Drive in Southland Park, according to a statement.

— thomas novelly, The Courier-Journal, "Dog flu turns up again in Louisville, so Kentucky Humane Society isn't accepting new dogs," 30 Apr. 2018
The pit bull was also to be quarantined for at least three days while the owner looked up its medical history of shots.

— charlene paparizos, cleveland.com, "Chagrin Falls High School After Prom Parent Committee Invites Residents to Walk Through the Bayou: Community Voices," 11 May 2018

First Known Use of quarantine

1801

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

QUARANTINE Defined for English Language Learners

quarantine

noun

: the period of time during which a person or animal that has a disease or that might have a disease is kept away from others to prevent the disease from spreading
: the situation of being kept away from others to prevent a disease from spreading

quarantine

verb

: to keep (a person or animal) away from others to prevent a disease from spreading : to put or keep (a person or animal) in quarantine

QUARANTINE Defined for Kids

quarantine

noun quar·an·tine \ ˈkwȯr-ən-ˌtēn \

1 : isolation of people, animals, or things (as plants) out of a certain area to prevent the spread of disease or pests

2 : a period during which a person or animal with a contagious disease is isolated

3 : a place (as a hospital) where a person or animal with a contagious disease is isolated

History for quarantine

Centuries ago people in Europe did not have a good understanding of infectious diseases. But experience taught them that when ships arrived in port and brought strangers, illness would sometimes follow. In Venice, a port in Italy, the practice developed of holding a ship in the harbor for forty days if the passengers were suspected of carrying disease, especially plague. If no one developed signs of illness, the passengers were let ashore. The word for this period of forty days was in Italian quarantena, a derivative of quaranta, “forty,” and it is a source of the English word quarantine.

quarantine

verb

quarantined; quarantining

: to put or hold in isolation to prevent the spread of disease or pests The infected patient was quarantined.

Medical Dictionary

quarantine

noun quar·an·tine \ ˈkwȯr-ən-ˌtēn, ˈkwär- \

1 a : a term during which a ship arriving in port and suspected of carrying contagious disease is held in isolation from the shore

b : a regulation placing a ship in quarantine

c : a place where a ship is detained during quarantine

2 a : a restraint upon the activities or communication of persons or the transport of goods that is designed to prevent the spread of disease or pests

b : a place in which those under quarantine are kept