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Definition of "pandemic" []

  • Widespread; general. (adjective)
  • Medicine Epidemic over a wide geographic area and affecting a large proportion of the population: pandemic influenza. (adjective)
  • A pandemic disease. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "pandemic" in a sentence
  • "The word pandemic comes from the Greek word pandemos, which literally translates to "pertaining to all people.""
  • "But, he added, "we want people to understand what the word pandemic really means.""
  • "The term pandemic has to do with the geographic spread of a disease and not with the severity."