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

But reassortment alone cannot create a virus capable of launching a human pandemic, says Richard Webby, an infectious disease researcher at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. —Tanya Lewis, Scientific American, 31 Oct. 2024

Yet infectious disease researchers note that numbers remain too low for conclusions — especially given the virus’s grim history. —Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 29 Oct. 2024

The rise in cases is probably due to at least three factors, said Dr. Geoffrey Weinberg, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at the University of Rochester Medical Center. —Brenda Goodman, CNN, 25 Oct. 2024

Medical records reportedly indicate that an infectious disease consulting physician recommended that the patient stop taking Plaquenil. —Scott Schwebke, Orange County Register, 9 Oct. 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