vaccine

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noun vac·cine \ vak-ˈsēn , ˈvak-ˌsēn \

Definition of vaccine

:a preparation of killed microorganisms, living attenuated organisms, or living fully virulent organisms that is administered to produce or artificially increase immunity to a particular disease

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vaccine

adjective

See vaccine defined for English-language learners

See vaccine defined for kids

Recent Examples of vaccine from the Web

That misinformation highlights the vaccine-autism claim, despite extensive research disproving any link.

— lena h. sun, Washington Post, "Despite measles outbreak, anti-vaccine activists in Minnesota refuse to back down," 21 Aug. 2017
Two doses of the vaccine (administered 4-8 weeks apart) are advised for those who have never had the disease.

— kirk kenney, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Three Aztecs football players have chickenpox; Long concerned there will be more," 13 Aug. 2017
Dogs need two vaccines spaced two to four weeks apart, according to the Kentucky Humane Society's release.

— darcy costello, The Courier-Journal, "Dog flu outbreak spreads to a Kentucky Humane Society location," 21 July 2017
The CDC and WHO are funding research to develop new treatments, with three drugs and a vaccine in the works, says Patrice Harold, M.D., Director of Minimally Invasive Gynecology at Detroit Medical Center's Hutzel Women's Hospital.

— suzannah weiss, Glamour, "What You Need to Know About the Antibiotic-Resistant Strains of Gonorrhea Going Around," 21 July 2017
Meanwhile, Magic, a 5-year-old beagle, whimpered a bit after Roper poked him with a needle for his rabies vaccine.

— carole carlson, Post-Tribune, "Gary Pet Fair draws four-legged crowd," 17 July 2017
There's no vaccine or medication to treat it at this time.

— jessica mattern, Country Living, "New Tick-Borne "Heartland Virus" Is Spreading Across the South," 10 July 2017
But then, as Mozart's telling goes, Andy fell ill with polio, the vaccine for which was still quite new and not widely distributed.

— ella ceron, Teen Vogue, ""Toy Story" Theory About Andy's Dad Goes Viral," 26 June 2017
Preemies are at high risk for respiratory infections because of their underdeveloped lungs, for example; the most dangerous is Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), which Layla's pediatrician gave her a special, but expensive, vaccine for.

— jessica valenti, Marie Claire, "If Republicans Are Pro-Life, Why Don't They Care About My Child?," 23 June 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of vaccine

earlier, "fluid from cowpox pustules used in inoculation," noun use of vaccine "of cowpox" (in the phrases vaccine disease, vaccine matter), borrowed from New Latin vaccina (in variolae vaccinae "cowpox"), going back to Latin, feminine of vaccīnus "of or from a cow," from vacca "cow" (perhaps akin to Sanskrit vaśā "cow") + -īnus ¹-ine; in extended sense, "preparation of organisms administered to produced immunity," in part borrowed from French vaccin, masculine derivative of vaccine "cowpox, matter from cowpox pustules," borrowed from New Latin or English

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First Known Use: 1813

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VACCINE Defined for English Language Learners

vaccine

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noun

Definition of vaccine for English Language Learners

medical : a substance that is usually injected into a person or animal to protect against a particular disease

VACCINE Defined for Kids

vaccine

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noun vac·cine \ vak-ˈsēn , ˈvak-ˌsēn \

Definition of vaccine for Students

:a preparation containing usually killed or weakened microorganisms (as bacteria or viruses) that is given usually by injection to increase protection against a particular disease

History for vaccine

In the late 1700s the English doctor Edward Jenner investigated the old belief that people who contracted a mild disease called cowpox from cows thereby became immune to smallpox, a much more dangerous disease. Jenner documented 23 such cases, where people inoculated with matter from cowpox sores came down with cowpox but then did not contract smallpox. Because variolae vaccinae, literally, “cow pustules,” was the medical Latin name for cowpox, the virus-containing material used for inoculations eventually came to be called vaccine.

Medical Dictionary

vaccine

play

noun vac·cine \ vak-ˈsēn, ˈvak-ˌ \

medical Definition of vaccine

1 :matter or a preparation containing the virus of cowpox used to vaccinate a person against smallpox

2 :a preparation of killed microorganisms, living attenuated organisms, or living fully virulent organisms that is administered to produce or artificially increase immunity to a particular disease