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virus.

A submicroscopic, non-cellular structure that consists of a core of DNA or RNA surrounded by a protein coat, that requires a living host cell to replicate, and that sometimes causes disease in the host organism (such agents are often classed as nonliving infectious particles and less often as microorganisms).

5 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈvaɪ.ɹəs/
  1. A submicroscopic, non-cellular structure that consists of a core of DNA or RNA surrounded by a protein coat, that requires a living host cell to replicate, and that sometimes causes disease in the host organism (such agents are often classed as nonliving infectious particles and less often as microorganisms).

    countable · uncountable
  2. A submicroscopic, non-cellular structure that consists of a core of DNA or RNA surrounded by a protein coat, that requires a living host cell to replicate, and that sometimes causes disease in the host organism (such agents are often classed as nonliving infectious particles and less often as microorganisms). A species thereof.

    countable · uncountable
    Some viruses, such as norovirus, cause sporadic outbreaks of gastroenteritis.
  3. A submicroscopic, non-cellular structure that consists of a core of DNA or RNA surrounded by a protein coat, that requires a living host cell to replicate, and that sometimes causes disease in the host organism (such agents are often classed as nonliving infectious particles and less often as microorganisms). An individual particle thereof: synonym of virion.

    countable · uncountable
    Under electron microscopy, a few viruses were seen floating near the cells.
  4. A quantity of such infectious agents, considered en masse.

    uncountable
    Not much virus was detectable on a nucleic acid test; the viral load was very low.
  5. A disease caused by such an infectious agent; a viral illness.

    countable · informal · metonymically · uncountable
    He's got a virus and had to stay home from school.
  6. Venom, as produced by a poisonous animal etc.

    archaic · countable · uncountable
  7. A type of malware which can covertly transmit itself between computers via networks (especially the Internet) or removable storage such as disks by inserting its code into other executable files, often causing damage to systems and data; also computer virus.

    countable · uncountable
  8. Any type of malware.

    countable · proscribed · uncountable
  9. Any malicious or dangerous entity that spreads from one place or person to another.

    countable · figuratively · uncountable
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *weys- Proto-Indo-European *wisós Proto-Italic *weizos Latin vīrusbor. Middle English virus English virus From Middle English virus, from Latin vīrus (“poison, slime, venom”), via rhotacism from Proto-Italic *weizos, from Proto-Indo-European *wisós (“fluidity, slime, poison”). First use in the computer context by David Gerrold in his 1972 book When HARLIE Was One.

verb/ˈvaɪ.ɹəs/
  1. To send or infect an electronic device with a computer virus.

    nonstandard · rare
    I'm just going to virus anyone who tries cheating on this game.
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *weys- Proto-Indo-European *wisós Proto-Italic *weizos Latin vīrusbor. Middle English virus English virus From Middle English virus, from Latin vīrus (“poison, slime, venom”), via rhotacism from Proto-Italic *weizos, from Proto-Indo-European *wisós (“fluidity, slime, poison”). First use in the computer context by David Gerrold in his 1972 book When HARLIE Was One.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.