virus

noun

vi·rus ˈvī-rəs

plural viruses

: any of a large group of submicroscopic infectious agents that are usually regarded as nonliving extremely complex molecules, that typically contain a protein coat surrounding an RNA or DNA core of genetic material but no semipermeable membrane, that are capable of growth and multiplication only in living cells, and that cause various important diseases in humans, animals, and plants

also : filterable virus

: a disease or illness caused by a virus

: the causative agent of an infectious disease

: something that poisons the mind or soul

the force of this virus of prejudice—

V. S. Waters

: a computer program that is usually disguised as an innocuous program or file, that often produces copies of itself and inserts them into other programs, and that when run usually performs a malicious action (such as destroying data or damaging software)

archaic : venom sense 1

Example Sentences

Is the illness caused by bacteria or a virus? I think I have the virus that's going around this winter. The software checks your hard drive for viruses.

Recent Examples on the Web But the virus that causes Covid-19 has not disappeared. —

Syra Madad, CNN, 4 Mar. 2023 Key Takeaways Norovirus, also known as the stomach flu, is a highly contagious virus that can cause nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps, and diarrhea. —

Alyssa Hui, Verywell Health, 4 Mar. 2023 Microsoft was responsible for helping Ukraine detect and patch its vulnerabilities to the various malware and virus attacks. —

Thomas Mutch, Popular Mechanics, 3 Mar. 2023 Measles is a respiratory virus that is spread through the air. —

Anumita Kaur, Anchorage Daily News, 3 Mar. 2023 The state’s seven-day rolling coronavirus test positivity rate, which tracks the percentage of lab test results that are positive for the virus, remains unchanged at 6.5%. —

Aidin Vaziri, San Francisco Chronicle, 3 Mar. 2023 The White House announced there is no consensus in the Biden administration about whether COVID-19 sprang from a leak in a virus laboratory in China or was the result of a leap from another species to humans. —

Los Angeles Times, 2 Mar. 2023 An 11-year-old girl, who died earlier this month, and her father both tested positive for the H5N1 virus and are believed to have been infected by poultry in their village. —

Abigail Adcox, Washington Examiner, 1 Mar. 2023 Norovirus is a virus that causes diarrhea and vomiting, according to the CDC's website. —

Nathan Diller, USA TODAY, 1 Mar. 2023 See More

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

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, "pus, discharge from a sore, semen," borrowed from Latin vīrus (neuter) "venom, poisonous fluid, acrid element in a substance, secretion with medical or magical properties," going back to an Indo-European base *u̯is-/*u̯īs- "poison, venom," whence also Middle Irish fí "venom, poison, evil," Greek īós "poison," Tocharian A wäs and Tocharian B wase, Sanskrit viṣáṃ, Avestan viš, viša- (also vīš?); (sense 1) borrowed from German, borrowed from Latin

Note: The application of Latin vīrus to the submicroscopic infectious agents now considered viruses (rather than to any infectious agent) was apparently first made by the Dutch microbiologist Martinus Beijerinck (1851-1931) in "Ueber ein Contagium vivum fluidum als Ursache der Fleckenkrankheit der Tabaksblätter," Verhandelingen der Koninklijke Akademie van Wetenschappen te Amsterdam, Tweede Sectie, Deel VI, no. 5 (1898). Beijerinck, in studying tobacco mosaic virus, mistakenly believed that the agent was a fluid (contagium vivum fluidum, "living fluid infection") because it passed through filters capable of trapping bacteria. — The neuter gender of vīrus suggests that it was originally an s-stem; forms in text other than the nominative and accusative are perhaps found only in Lucretius. The length of the vowel in Latin, Irish, and Greek, in contrast to the short vowel in Tocharian and Indo-Iranian, has been variously accounted for. M. Mayrhofer (Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen) suggests that the etymon was originally a root noun, *u̯īs, *u̯is-ó-, with lengthening of the monosyllabic vowel; the daughter languages then generalized one or the other form.

First Known Use

1599, in the meaning defined at sense 4

Time Traveler

The first known use of virus was in 1599

See more words from the same year

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Cite this Entry

Style

“Virus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/virus. Accessed 8 Mar. 2023.

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Kids Definition

virus

noun

vi·rus ˈvī-rəs

plural viruses

: any of a large group of very tiny infectious agents that are too small to be seen with the ordinary light microscope but can often be seen with the electron microscope, that are usually regarded as nonliving complex molecules, that have an outside coat of protein around a core of RNA or DNA, that can grow and multiply only in living cells, and that cause important diseases in plants and animals including human beings compare filterable virus

: a disease or illness caused by a virus

: a computer program that is usually hidden within another seemingly harmless program and that produces copies of itself and inserts them into other programs and usually performs a malicious action (as destroying data) compare trojan horse sense 2, worm sense 5

Medical Definition

virus

noun

vi·rus ˈvī-rəs

: the causative agent of an infectious disease

: any of a large group of submicroscopic, infectious agents that are usually regarded as nonliving, extremely complex molecules or sometimes as very simple microorganisms, that typically contain a protein coat surrounding an RNA or DNA core of genetic material but no semipermeable membrane, that are capable of growth and multiplication only in living cells, and that cause various important diseases in humans, animals, and plants

also : filterable virus

: a disease caused by a virus

: an antigenic but not infectious material (as vaccine lymph) obtainable from a case of an infectious disease