typhoid fever

noun

: a communicable disease marked especially by fever, diarrhea, prostration, headache, and intestinal inflammation and caused by a bacterium (Salmonella typhi)

Examples of typhoid fever in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web During the typhoid fever outbreak in the early 1900s, an asymptomatic cook famously infected between roughly 50 and 120 people. —

Anna Funk, Discover Magazine, 6 Dec. 2020 But the reunion took a tragic turn when his favorite child, 9-year-old Willie, fell sick and died of typhoid fever. —

Andrew R. Graybill, WSJ, 29 June 2023 But the brothers’ momentum came to an abrupt halt when Wilbur came down with typhoid fever in 1912. —

Carlyn Kranking, Smithsonian Magazine, 31 Oct. 2022 Using genetic evidence gathered from teeth found in an ancient cave site on the island of Crete, the researchers showed the presence of Yersinia pestis and Salmonella enterica, two bacteria that can cause typhoid fever. —

Sara Novak, Discover Magazine, 11 Oct. 2022 For eleven diseases - adenovirus infection, measles, Q fever, aseptic viral meningitis, enterovirus infection, gastroenteritis, typhoid fever, tularaemia, hantavirus infection, hepatitis A and shigellosis - outbreaks in the human population were significantly correlated to the NAO monthly index. —

Rebecca Kreston, Discover Magazine, 8 May 2013 A year later, in Italy, typhoid fever took him out. —

Holland Cotter, New York Times, 23 Mar. 2023 The testimony included a description of how typhoid fever had spread among the camp’s inmates starting in the fall of 1944. —

BostonGlobe.com, 20 Dec. 2022 As Thompson explains, Willie contracted typhoid fever and died while Abraham was president. —

Lennie Omalza, The Courier-Journal, 16 Feb. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'typhoid fever.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1829, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of typhoid fever was in 1829

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Typhoid fever.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/typhoid%20fever. Accessed 2 Oct. 2023.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

typhoid fever

noun

: a disease that is caused by a bacterium, is characterized especially by fever, diarrhea, weakness, headache, and an inflamed intestine, and is passed from one person to another in contaminated food or water

Medical Definition

typhoid fever

noun

: a communicable disease marked by fever, diarrhea, prostration, headache, splenomegaly, eruption of rose-colored spots, leukopenia, and intestinal inflammation and caused by a bacterium of the genus Salmonella (S. typhi)