self-quarantine

verb

self-quar·​an·​tine ˌself-ˈkwȯr-ən-ˌtēn 

-ˈkwär-

self-quarantined; self-quarantining; self-quarantines

intransitive verb

: to refrain from any contact with other individuals for a period of time (such as two weeks) during the outbreak of a contagious disease usually by remaining in one's home and limiting contact with family members

Note: To reduce transmission of a contagious disease during an outbreak, individuals are typically asked by health officials to self-quarantine following known contact with an infectious person or after returning from a region where cases of the disease are widely reported.

As the coronavirus spreads across the country, thousands of people who may have been exposed to the virus through travel abroad or contact with an infected person have been asked to self-quarantine for two weeks to help contain the outbreak.

—Deanna Pan

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) announced on Sunday evening that he will be self-quarantining at home in Texas after learning that he had a "brief conversation and a handshake" with someone at the Conservative Political Action Conference who later tested positive for the coronavirus.

—Matt Wilstein

self-quarantine noun

plural self-quarantines

[Sam] Page said the woman's father did not comply with the health department's instructions and left self-quarantine to take another daughter to a school function on Saturday.

—Dawson White

Self-quarantines only work if people are willing to inconvenience themselves for the public good.

—Richmond (Virginia) Times Dispatch

Examples of self-quarantine in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Previously, Beach gained national attention for his flouting of COVID-19 protocols in the early part of the pandemic—prompting a call for the entire state legislature to self-quarantine—and his effort to overturn the 2020 presidential vote in Georgia. —Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 5 Feb. 2025

The enduring, cross-generational popularity of Friends, The Office and even The Sopranos is proof that there’s something magnetic about a loving group of people seemingly self-quarantined on their own metaphorical island. —Sam Adeyemi, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024

In March 2020, DeSantis ordered a two-week, self-quarantine for anyone arriving in the state from the New York City region, which was experiencing an infectious wave at the time. —Jeffrey Schweers, Orlando Sentinel, 16 July 2024

Such measures as self-quarantine and social distancing will not be easily applied in a country where one-third of the population lives in dense, overcrowded cities. —Vidya Krishnan, Foreign Affairs, 25 Mar. 2020

The photographer Bruno worked with on the assignment that day is also self-quarantining, though neither has shown any symptoms. —Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 30 Jan. 2024

The couple made their relationship Instagram ~official~ with a self-quarantine haircut snap. —Women's Health, 19 July 2023

In 2020, Swift encouraged her fans to self-quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic with a cute photo of Meredith sitting in a toy, barely visible. —Jessica Booth, Peoplemag, 21 Apr. 2023

If Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the perfect game to play in self-quarantine during a pandemic, the new Resident Evil 3 remake is quite possibly the worst. —Jay Peters, The Verge, 9 Mar. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1918, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for self-quarantine

• acetylene
• adenosine
• amphetamine
• anthropocene
• antipyrine
• apomorphine
• apoprotein
• aquamarine
• arsphenamine
• azobenzene
• buprenorphine
• chlorobenzene