COVID-19

[ koh-vid-nahyn-teen ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

Pathology.

coronavirus disease 2019: a potentially severe, primarily respiratory illness caused by a coronavirus and characterized by fever, coughing, and shortness of breath. In some people, the disease also damages major organs, as the heart or kidneys.

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Spelling Note

COVID-19 (all capital letters) is the spelling used internationally by scientific and medical professionals and their related organizations, which corresponds with the American convention of capitalizing an acronym such as AIDS or SARS. However, Covid-19 (spelled like a proper noun with an initial capital letter followed by lowercase letters) is the less obtrusive form used by several prominent media, such as The New York Times and The Times of London. And it is not uncommon to see both forms shortened to just COVID or Covid, respectively. The lowercase form covid is considerably less common in edited text.

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Word History and Origins

Origin of COVID-19¹

Short for co(rona)vi(rus) d(isease) (20)19, the year in which the outbreak of the disease was first identified; so named by the World Health Organization in 2020

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

In supermarkets, shoppers formed long queues and panic-bought essentials - echoing scenes from the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Both editions offer insights from the Democratic governor’s political life, which includes overcoming a kidnapping and assassination plot in 2020 along with steering her state through the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Jurgen Klopp led them to the Premier League title in 2020, but the celebrations were played out in the genteel surroundings of Formby Golf Club, and the trophy lift in front of invited family and friends at a deserted Anfield amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

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The Food and Drug Administration, meanwhile, suspended a milk-safety testing program because of job cuts—the FDA is an HHS agency—and Politico reported that Kennedy is considering removing the COVID-19 vaccine from the list of recommended shots for children.

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Real estate experts hoped for better at the end of 2024 as the leasing market that had been lagging since the COVID-19 pandemic began showed signs of recovery, including more companies calling for workers to return to their desks.

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