typhus

ty·phus | \ ˈtī-fəs

Definition of typhus

: any of various bacterial diseases caused by rickettsias: such as

a : a severe human febrile disease that is caused by one (Rickettsia prowazekii) transmitted especially by body lice and is marked by high fever, stupor alternating with delirium, intense headache, and a dark red rash

b : murine typhus

c : scrub typhus

Examples of typhus in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web In 1848, the Prussian government sent a young physician named Rudolf Virchow to investigate a typhus epidemic in Upper Silesia. — Ed Yong, The Atlantic, "How Science Beat the Virus," 17 Dec. 2020 Murine typhus is a rare disease in the US, but cases have been reported in southern California, Hawaii, and Texas. — Claire Gillespie, Health.com, "Doctors Thought a California Man Had COVID-19, but It Was Actually Murine Typhus—Here's What to Know," 6 Nov. 2020 It’s anthrax, cholera, diphtheria, smallpox, typhus and typhoid. — Kori Rumore, chicagotribune.com, "‘Dead people always seem to get in the way of the living.’ Facing death with Chicago’s ‘Cemetery Lady’ Helen Sclair.," 1 Nov. 2020 Whether facing epidemics of yellow fever, typhus or smallpox, residents were sent to South Baltimore to prevent infecting other residents. — Christina Tkacik, baltimoresun.com, "At nearly 100 years old, Lord Baltimore hotel finds new life as city’s free coronavirus quarantine center," 16 Oct. 2020 Sylvatic epidemic typhus is a rare bacterial disease transmitted from flying squirrels to humans that causes fever, body aches, vomiting, and other flu-like symptoms. — Dina Fine Maron, National Geographic, "Exclusive: Inside Florida’s alleged flying squirrel smuggling operation," 15 Sep. 2020 Something very like typhus was first described in 1489 CE during the War of Granada, in which the Spanish army reported losing 17,000 men to disease. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "How the Warsaw Ghetto beat back typhus during World War II," 13 Sep. 2020 In particular, American physicians at the time believed that typhus and typhoid were the same affliction, differing only in severity of symptoms. — Timothy Kent Holliday, Smithsonian Magazine, "What an 1836 Typhus Outbreak Taught the Medical World About Epidemics," 21 Apr. 2020 Just four months before his death from tuberculosis, and while on his way to Italy to attempt to recover from that disease, Keats ended up quarantined on a ship during an outbreak of typhus. — Dana Snitzky, Longreads, "This Week In Books: Too Small For the Occasion," 10 Aug. 2020

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

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Last Updated

16 Jan 2021

Cite this Entry

“Typhus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/typhus. Accessed 22 Jan. 2021.

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More Definitions for typhus

typhus

noun

English Language Learners Definition of typhus

medical : a serious disease that is carried by small insects that live on the bodies of people and animals and that causes high fever, headache, and a dark red rash

See the full definition for typhus in the English Language Learners Dictionary

typhus

noun

ty·phus | \ ˈtī-fəs