epidemic

1 of 2

adjective

ep·​i·​dem·​ic ˌe-pə-ˈde-mik How to pronounce epidemic (audio)
1
: affecting or tending to affect a disproportionately large number of individuals within a population, community, or region at the same time
typhoid was epidemic
2
a
: excessively prevalent
b
: contagious sense 4
epidemic laughter
3
: characterized by very widespread growth or extent : of, relating to, or constituting an epidemic
the practice had reached epidemic proportions
epidemical adjective
epidemically adverb
epidemicity noun

epidemic

2 of 2

noun

1
: an outbreak of disease that spreads quickly and affects many individuals at the same time : an outbreak of epidemic disease
2
: an outbreak or product of sudden rapid spread, growth, or development
an epidemic of bankruptcies
Usage of Endemic, Epidemic, and Pandemic

This trio of terms describes various degrees of an infectious disease's spread. The process begins with an outbreak—a sudden rise in the presence of a disease. An outbreak that can't be stopped or slowed, and in which the disease is spreading rapidly to many people within a localized community or region (such as a single country), is called an epidemic. The word pandemic refers to an epidemic that has gone international: the disease, once localized in scope, now starts to appear in other countries and even on other continents, typically infecting a large number of people in a short amount of time. A pandemic often has significant economic and social ramifications due to its global impact. If a disease lingers for a long time as an epidemic or a pandemic, it may eventually become endemic to an area. The word endemic describes a disease that persists at a consistent level within a region with fairly predictable rates of infection and spread, making it easier to prevent future outbreaks. Epidemic, pandemic, and endemic all share the Greek root dêmos, meaning "district, country, people."

Examples of epidemic in a Sentence

Adjective Overuse injuries—particularly in the elbows and shoulders of young pitchers—are indeed becoming epidemic. Orthopedists often blame coaches and parents for failing to monitor how many pitches kids are throwing and for not giving them time to rest their arms. Sara Corbett, New York Times Sports Magazine, June 2006
The dream of running off to live the good life in a postcard perfect town in the mountains or by the sea often reaches epidemic proportions near the end of summer. John Rasmus, National Geographic, September 2004
Saturday Night Fever propelled disco fever to epidemic proportions: By 1978, 40 percent of all the music on Billboard's Hot 100 was disco. Peter Braunstein, American Heritage, November 1999
the little girl's giggles were epidemic, and soon the entire gathering was laughing Noun Cosmetic surgery is now so prevalent that it could qualify as a national epidemic. Toni Bentley, New York Times Book Review, 22 Oct. 2006
"Spim," as people are beginning to call unsolicited instant messages, is the latest installment in the growing epidemic of unwanted electronic ads and a further sign that unscrupulous online marketers will seek to take advantage of all of the Internet's communication tools, not limiting themselves to spam or pop-up ads. David McGuire, WashingtonPost.com, 13 Nov. 2003
Whatever might have motivated Kennedy to put [Ian] Fleming on his list, from that point, Bond became an international obsession. When the first Bond film appeared in 1962—Dr. No—the obsession was a full-blown craze, a cultural epidemic. Gerald Early, New Letters, 1999
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Getting treatment early is critical, said Dr. Katrina Byrd, an infectious disease expert and epidemic intelligence officer at the CDC. Barbara Mantel, NBC News, 8 Feb. 2024 At the same time, cases of mycoplasma pneumonia have reached epidemic levels in Denmark and contributed to a surge of hospital admissions in China. Jessica Herzberg, NBC News, 30 Nov. 2023 None of this is to say that the FCC won’t ultimately create rules that will provide a meaningful check on a scam that has reached epidemic proportions. Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 18 Nov. 2023 Not surprisingly, rates of STIs are becoming epidemic, according to the CDC. Lisa Mulcahy, Good Housekeeping, 30 Aug. 2023 With loneliness reaching epidemic proportions in the U.S.—and higher among young people—care and camaraderie are a premium. Roula Amire, Fortune, 18 July 2023 In the early 2000s, childhood obesity had reached epidemic proportions, and in 2007 the Board committed $500 million to fight this phenomenon, with a goal to reverse the epidemic. Bill Frist, Forbes, 16 Mar. 2023 Other social media users in Australia ridiculed Owens on Twitter for criticizing local anti-epidemic measures, responding with images of themselves continuing to enjoy the outdoors, such as pristine, largely empty beaches. Time, 22 Oct. 2021 The anatomy of an outbreak: how tiny changes in the genome of the Chikungunya virus have created an epidemic African strain and a tamer Asian strain. Rebecca Kreston, Discover Magazine, 19 Aug. 2013
Noun
Many young adults began college or a career amid a pandemic and have faced high housing prices, misinformation exacerbated by social media, and a loneliness epidemic, as The Washington Post has previously reported. Victoria Bisset, Washington Post, 20 Mar. 2024 In May 2021, the Justice Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy to issue grants to target the United States' gun violence epidemic, the rise of hate crimes and officer shortages in law enforcement agencies nationwide. Nicole Sganga, CBS News, 19 Mar. 2024 The race historically runs from Anchorage to Nome to commemorate the 20 dogsled teams that traveled the route in 1925 to deliver medicine amid a diphtheria epidemic. Leah Sarnoff, ABC News, 15 Mar. 2024 Lehman also touched on the problem of gun violence in America, telling jurors that amid the nation's epidemic of gun deaths and mass killings, school shootings in particular have devastated communities. Gina Kaufman, Detroit Free Press, 13 Mar. 2024 So being better prepared for the health impacts of climate change would also help with other health crises—disease outbreaks, epidemics, things like that? Rob Reddick, WIRED, 13 Mar. 2024 This approval also gives healthcare providers another tool to help combat the rising epidemic of heart disease in the United States, Michael Chan, MD, an interventional cardiologist with Providence St. Joseph Hospital in Orange County, CA, told Verywell in an email. Alyssa Hui, Verywell Health, 11 Mar. 2024 Under the agreements, most of the money is to be used to address the overdose epidemic. Samantha Hendrickson, Quartz, 4 Mar. 2024 Available over the counter as a nasal spray, it is considered the fire extinguisher of the opioid epidemic, for use in an emergency, but just one tool in a prevention strategy. Rae Ellen Bichell, CNN, 29 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'epidemic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

borrowed from French épidémique, going back to Middle French, from epidemie "disease affecting a large number of individuals" + -ique -ic entry 1; Middle French epidemie, earlier epydimie, borrowed from Medieval Latin epidēmia, derivative (from feminine singular or neuter plural) of Late Latin epidēmius "widespread, prevalent (of a disease)," borrowed from Greek epidḗmios "within the country, among the people, prevalent (of a disease)," from epi- epi- + -dēmios, adjective derivative of dêmos "district, country, people" — more at demo-

Note: The notion that the word epidemic (adjective or noun) is owed directly to Hippocrates—or is, to put it more circumspectly, part of the Hippocratic Corpus—is somewhat illusory, a product of the words used in English translations. For example, in W. H. S. Jones' translation of De aere aquis et locis (Loeb Classical Library, 1923), the following passage (4.32-34) implies a distinction between "endemic" and "epidemic": "For men these diseases are endemic, besides there are epidemic diseases which may prevail through the change of the seasons." In the Greek text, however, "endemic diseases" are nosḗmata epichōría "illnesses of the country, native illnesses," while "epidemic diseases" translates ti pánkoinon, literally, "something common," i.e., "common or general diseases." Derivatives based on epi- and dêmos can be found in the Hippocratic texts (e.g., "Kaì gàr állōs tò nósēma epídēmon ên," Epidemics 1.14; "Tà mèn epidēmḗsanta nosḗmata taûta," Epidemics 3.3), though epídēmon means simply "common, prevalent," and epidēmḗsanta "having become prevalent." The title Epidḗmia, conventionally translated "Epidemics," for the works in the Hippocratic Corpus dealing with seasonal diseases and case histories, is presumably post-classical.

Noun

noun derivative of epidemic entry 1

First Known Use

Adjective

1603, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1630, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of epidemic was in 1603

Dictionary Entries Near epidemic

Cite this Entry

“Epidemic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/epidemic. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

epidemic

1 of 2 adjective
ep·​i·​dem·​ic ˌep-ə-ˈdem-ik How to pronounce epidemic (audio)
: spreading widely and affecting many individuals at one time

epidemic

2 of 2 noun
1
: an outbreak of epidemic disease
2
: a sudden rapidly spreading outbreak or growth
a crime epidemic
Etymology

Adjective

derived from Greek epidēmia "an epidemic, visit," from epidēmos "visiting, epidemic," from epi- "on, at" and dēmos "people, the masses" — related to democracy

Medical Definition

epidemic

1 of 2 adjective
ep·​i·​dem·​ic ˌep-ə-ˈdem-ik How to pronounce epidemic (audio)
variants also epidemical
1
: affecting or tending to affect an atypically large number of individuals within a population, community, or region at the same time
typhoid was epidemic
compare endemic, sporadic sense 1
2
: of, relating to, or constituting an epidemic
coronary disease … has hit epidemic proportionsHerbert Ratner
epidemically adverb

epidemic

2 of 2 noun
1
: an outbreak of epidemic disease
2
: a natural population (as of insects) suddenly and greatly enlarged

More from Merriam-Webster on epidemic

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