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: a disease of the human immune system that is characterized cytologically especially by reduction in the numbers of CD4-bearing helper T cells to 20 percent or less of normal thereby rendering the subject highly vulnerable to life-threatening conditions (such as Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia) and to some (such as Kaposi's sarcoma) that become life-threatening and that is caused by infection with HIV commonly transmitted in infected blood especially during illicit intravenous drug use and in bodily secretions (such as semen) during sexual intercourse
Examples of AIDS in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
And there was the return of the ultimate Survivor, Ethan Zohn — a guy who used his winnings on Survivor: Africa to help fight AIDS on the continent, and then had to survive not one, but two life-threatening bouts of a rare blood cancer.
—Dalton Ross, EW.com, 12 Dec. 2024
Another, Cryptosporidium, can lead to very dangerous diarrhea in people who have HIV or AIDS, de Latour says.
—Sam Tupper, CNN, 12 Dec. 2024
According to an analysis presented at the 24th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2022), PrEP medications would need to cost less than $54 a year per patient for South Africans, for example, to be able to afford them.
—Maria Isabel Barros Guinle, NPR, 12 Dec. 2024
Following the death of his friend Ryan White, who contracted AIDS from a blood transfusion, John checked into Chicago’s Parkside Lutheran Hospital on July 29, 1990 — and has remained sober ever since.
—Cara Lynn Shultz, People.com, 11 Dec. 2024
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Word History
Etymology
acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
First Known Use
1982, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing AIDS
Dictionary Entries Near AIDS
Cite this Entry
“AIDS.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/AIDS. Accessed 23 Dec. 2024.
Kids Definition
AIDS
noun
: a serious disease of the human immune system marked by destruction of a large proportion of the helper T cells in the body due to infection by the HIV virus commonly transmitted especially in blood and semen
Medical Definition
AIDS
noun
: a disease of the human immune system that is characterized cytologically especially by a reduction in the numbers of CD4-bearing helper T cells to 20 percent or less of normal thereby rendering the subject highly vulnerable to life-threatening conditions (as Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia) and to some that become life threatening (as Kaposi's sarcoma) and that is caused by infection with HIV commonly transmitted in infected blood especially during illicit intravenous drug use and in bodily secretions (as semen) during sexual intercourse
called also acquired immune deficiency syndrome, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
More from Merriam-Webster on AIDS
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about AIDS
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