bubonic plague

noun

: plague caused by a bacterium (Yersinia pestis) and characterized especially by the formation of buboes

Examples of bubonic plague in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The quarantine and isolation measures that helped arrest the bubonic plague proved ineffective against the six pandemics of cholera that swept the United States, the Middle East, Russia, and Europe in the nineteenth century. Thomas J. Bollyky, Foreign Affairs, 28 Mar. 2020 Overall global numbers last declined about 700 years ago, in the wake of the bubonic plague that tore through much of Eurasia. Nicholas Eberstadt, Foreign Affairs, 10 Oct. 2024 The administration has, however, been quick to invoke the draconian British-era Epidemics Act of 1897, imposed during an outbreak of bubonic plague. Vidya Krishnan, Foreign Affairs, 25 Mar. 2020 Untreated bubonic plague can turn into the more serious pneumonic plague, which causes rapidly developing pneumonia after bacteria spread to the lungs. Susan Scutti, CNN, 5 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for bubonic plague 

Word History

First Known Use

1803, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of bubonic plague was in 1803

Dictionary Entries Near bubonic plague

Cite this Entry

“Bubonic plague.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bubonic%20plague. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

bubonic plague

noun
: a form of plague that is spread especially from rats to humans by fleas and is marked by chills, fever, weakness, and buboes

Medical Definition

bubonic plague

noun
: plague caused by a bacterium of the genus Yersinia (Y. pestis synonym Pasteurella pestis) and characterized especially by the formation of buboes compare pneumonic plague
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!