spotted fever

noun

: any of various eruptive fevers: such as
a
: typhus

Examples of spotted fever in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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There, ehrlichiosis, spotted fever rickettsioses and the allergic condition alpha-gal syndrome are the top concerns. Pien Huang, NPR, 23 June 2025 Rocky Mountain spotted fever There are two main ticks responsible for spreading rocky mountain spotted fever: the Rocky Mountain wood tick and the American dog tick. Jocelyn Solis-Moreira, Popular Science, 27 Mar. 2023 North American opossums are known to carry leptospirosis, tuberculosis, coccidiosis, spotted fever and tularemia, according to Critter Control. Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 7 Nov. 2022 Removing ticks quickly can reduce the risk of catching Lyme Disease or spotted fever rickettsiosis. al, 13 June 2022 Other tick-borne diseases include anaplasmosis, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, spotted fever rickettsiosis and tularemia. Rachel Trent, CNN, 12 July 2021 Tidewater spotted fever can cause fever, muscle aches, headaches, and a rash. Elyse Kelly, Washington Examiner, 22 Feb. 2021 Nicholle was a master researcher of infectious diseases and made many discoveries regarding the pathology and epidemiology of brucellosis, leishmaniasis, measles, rinderpest, scarlet fever, Mediterranean spotted fever, toxoplasmosis, trachoma and tuberculosis. Rebecca Kreston, Discover Magazine, 21 Mar. 2012

Word History

First Known Use

1623, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of spotted fever was in 1623

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Cite this Entry

“Spotted fever.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spotted%20fever. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

spotted fever

noun
: any of various diseases (as Rocky Mountain spotted fever and typhus) that are characterized by fever and spots on the skin

Medical Definition

spotted fever

noun
: any of various eruptive fevers: as

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