swine flu

[ swahyn-floo ]

nounPathology.
  1. a form of influenza that afflicts pigs.

  2. a form of influenza that afflicts humans by infection with a virus once thought to be very similar to the influenza virus found in North American pigs.

Origin of swine flu

1
First recorded in 1920–25

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use swine flu in a sentence

Scientific definitions for swine flu

swine flu

[ swīn ]


  1. A highly contagious form of influenza seen in swine, caused by a virus of the family Orthomyxoviridae. The infection is communicable to humans and caused a worldwide epidemic in 1918.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.