typhoid fever

noun

: a communicable disease marked especially by fever, diarrhea, prostration, headache, and intestinal inflammation and caused by a bacterium (Salmonella typhi)

Examples of typhoid fever in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Among the ghosts still haunting Washington, D.C.: Lincoln, who has been spotted wandering the corridors at the White House, as has his 11-year-old son, Willie, who died there in 1862 from typhoid fever. —N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA TODAY, 24 Oct. 2024

Meanwhile, in Gaza, over 97 percent of Gaza’s water is unfit for human consumption, leading to a spike in serious waterborne and foodborne illnesses, such as gastroenteritis, severe diarrhea, salmonella, and typhoid fever. —Zena Agha, Foreign Affairs, 1 Nov. 2018

Such testing is critical to fighting waterborne illnesses such as dysentery and typhoid fever. —Letters To The Editor, Washington Post, 26 July 2024

Stephen and his fellow laborers flee, but he is slowed down by dysentery and typhoid fever. —Terry W. Hartle, The Christian Science Monitor, 11 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1829, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

typhoid fever

noun

: a disease that is caused by a bacterium, is characterized especially by fever, diarrhea, weakness, headache, and an inflamed intestine, and is passed from one person to another in contaminated food or water

Medical Definition

typhoid fever

noun

: a communicable disease marked by fever, diarrhea, prostration, headache, splenomegaly, eruption of rose-colored spots, leukopenia, and intestinal inflammation and caused by a bacterium of the genus Salmonella (S. typhi)