Definition of "pertussis" [per•tus•sis]

• See whooping cough. (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.

• "To many in Boulder, endemic pertussis is no cause for alarm."
• "Seven infants have already died from the disease, also called pertussis, and about 2,500 cases have been reported — a six-fold increase over this time last year."
• "In the Bay Area, cases of whooping cough otherwise known as pertussis are up nearly sixfold to 173 through May this year compared with the same period in 2009."