Definition of "shingles" [shin•gles]

• An acute viral infection characterized by inflammation of the sensory ganglia of certain spinal or cranial nerves and the eruption of vesicles along the affected nerve path. It usually strikes only one side of the body and is often accompanied by severe neuralgia. Also called herpes zoster. (noun-plural)

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.

• "Because the virus that causes shingles is already in a person's body, others cannot get shingles from a person with shingles."
• "Architect-couple Michael Morris and Yoshiko Satori built a modern getaway on Shelter Island, N.Y. It's their answer to what they describe as the "shingles on steroids" homes in the Hamptons."
• ""Those are what they call shingles, my lad," said Gunson."