✨📕 The NEWThe NEW Collegiate Dictionary, 12th Edition Over 5,000 words added — Buy Now! Collegiate DictionaryBuy Now!

zoster

noun

zos·​ter ˈzä-stər How to pronounce zoster (audio)

Examples of zoster in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Scientists suspect that the shingles vaccination may help by preventing the reactivation of dormant viruses like varicella zoster and herpes simplex, which are thought to contribute to brain inflammation and the accumulation of dangerous proteins linked to dementia. Janet Loehrke, USA Today, 7 Dec. 2025 Zostavax contains a weakened form of the live varicella-zoster virus. Tom Gavin, EverydayHealth.com, 2 Dec. 2025 The latent varicella zoster virus lies dormant in the body after a person has chicken pox. Amy McGorry, FOXNews.com, 27 Oct. 2025 The varicella-zoster virus causes not just the itchy chickenpox rash but sometimes systemic infections, pneumonia and brain swelling. Andrea Tamayo, Scientific American, 18 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for zoster

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin zōstēr, borrowed from Greek zōstḗr "belt, girdle, shingles," from zōs-, base of zṓnnȳmi, aorist ézōsa "(I) gird(ed)" + -tēr, suffix of instruments — more at zone entry 1

First Known Use

circa 1706, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of zoster was circa 1706

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Zoster.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/zoster. Accessed 9 Dec. 2025.

Medical Definition

zoster

noun
zos·​ter ˈzäs-tər How to pronounce zoster (audio)

More from Merriam-Webster on zoster

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!