infectious disease

noun

: a disease (such as influenza, malaria, meningitis, rabies, or tetanus) caused by the entrance into the body of pathogenic agents or microorganisms (such as bacteria, viruses, protozoans, or fungi) which grow and multiply there compare communicable disease, contagious disease

Examples of infectious disease in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Using wastewater or sewage, the CDC tests the water to see if there are any traces of an infectious disease within a community, the government agency says. —Ahjané Forbes, USA TODAY, 17 Aug. 2024

Maybe not for this wave, immunologists and infectious disease experts said. —Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 13 Aug. 2024

The infectious disease is caused by the Coccidioides fungus that grows in the soil and dirt in some areas ​of California. —Bruce Haring, Deadline, 3 Aug. 2024

Medical schools often no longer mandate parasitology classes, with such courses falling into small concentrations like tropical medicine or infectious disease. —Hannah Richter, Smithsonian Magazine, 31 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1600, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

infectious disease

noun

: a disease caused by the presence, growth, and increase in numbers of germs in the body

Medical Definition

infectious disease

noun

: a disease (as influenza, malaria, meningitis, rabies, or tetanus) caused by the entrance into the body of pathogenic agents or microorganisms (as bacteria, viruses, protozoans, or fungi) which grow and multiply there compare communicable disease, contagious disease