Definition of quarantine
1 : a period of 40 days
2a : a term during which a ship arriving in port and suspected of carrying contagious disease is held in isolation from the shoreb : a regulation placing a ship in quarantinec : a place where a ship is detained during quarantine
3a : a restraint upon the activities or communication of persons or the transport of goods designed to prevent the spread of disease or pestsb : a place in which those under quarantine are kept
4 : a state of enforced isolation
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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
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Three people are under quarantine Saturday morning following a hazardous material spill on the Saint Raphael campus of Yale New Haven Hospital.
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European governments had implemented public health measures since the 14th century, when the Italian city-states took measures to control the spread of bubonic plague through quarantines.
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The quarantine expansion includes 576-acres in parts of the East Fork Wildlife Area, according to Public Information Officer Brett Gates of the Ohio Department of Agriculture.
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Once his quarantine and acclimation period is complete, Baridi will join 20-year-old Malaika in the giraffe yard outside.
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So instead of using the vaccine in treating smallpox outbreaks, local public health officials relied on isolating the victims in quarantine, and disinfecting their homes and belongings.
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A couple of months ago, 15 of them arrived from the Minnesota and Toledo zoos and have been in quarantine.
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Together, Leonard and Gobi waited out 90 days of quarantine in a dank Beijing apartment before making it home to Scotland in January.
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Now in Berlin, the duo will be under quarantine before going on display in July.
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
quarantine
Definition of quarantine
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
Examples of quarantine in a Sentence
The hospital quarantined the infected patients.
The dog was immediately quarantined.
Recent Examples of quarantine from the Web
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Particularly in our current, highly partisan age, one of the great benefits of localism is its tendency to quarantine disputes.
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The isolation room will allow shelter staff the ability to quarantine and treat cats with upper respiratory infection.
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The first email was spotted by a company computer scientist who recognized it as suspicious, and the emails were quarantined and never opened by anybody at the company, Martin said.
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Moreno said the dog is quarantined and under the custody of Detroit Animal Control and Care.
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One passenger told BBC News that fliers were quarantined for about nine hours.
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The mares were flown by plane from Austria to New York, quarantined, tested and then released to Tempel Farms at the end of 2016.
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Pinkerton spent months quarantined at home on medication while officials tested hundreds of people at Olathe Northwest and dozens of people outside the school who also had contact with him.
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Also, no release fees will be charged for owners reclaiming lost pets until July 2, although the offer does not apply to animals under investigation or ones that have been confiscated or quarantined.
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.
First Known Use of quarantine
1801
QUARANTINE Defined for English Language Learners
quarantine
playDefinition of quarantine for English Language Learners
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: 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
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: the situation of being kept away from others to prevent a disease from spreading
quarantine
Definition of quarantine for English Language Learners
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: 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
Definition of quarantine for Students
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.
Definition of quarantine for Students
quarantined
;quarantining
: to put or hold in isolation to prevent the spread of disease or pests The infected patient was quarantined.
Medical Dictionary
Medical Definition of quarantine
1a: a term during which a ship arriving in port and suspected of carrying contagious disease is held in isolation from the shoreb: a regulation placing a ship in quarantinec: a place where a ship is detained during quarantine
2a: a restraint upon the activities or communication of persons or the transport of goods that is designed to prevent the spread of disease or pestsb: a place in which those under quarantine are kept
quarantine
Medical Definition of quarantine
quarantined
;quarantining
transitive verb
: to detain in or exclude by quarantineintransitive verb
: to establish or declare a quarantine
Learn More about quarantine
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See words that rhyme with quarantine Spanish Central: Translation of quarantine Nglish: Translation of quarantine for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of quarantine for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about quarantine
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