chickenpox

American

[chik-uhn-poks] / ˈtʃɪk ənˌpɒks /

Or chicken pox

noun

a disease, commonly of children, caused by the varicella zoster virus and characterized by mild headache and fever, malaise, and eruption of blisters on the skin and mucous membranes.

chickenpox British

/ ˈtʃɪkɪnˌpɒks /

noun

a highly communicable viral disease most commonly affecting children, characterized by slight fever and the eruption of a rash

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

chickenpox Scientific

/ chĭk′ən-pŏks′ /

A highly contagious infectious disease, usually of children, caused by the varicella-zoster virus of the genus Varicellavirus. The infection is characterized by fever, and itching skin blisters that start on the trunk of the body and spread to the extremities.
Also called varicella

Etymology

Origin of chickenpox

First recorded in 1720–30

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, is a painful rash with blisters that develops when the virus that causes chickenpox, varicella zoster, becomes active again later in life.

From Science Daily

Young children in the UK are being offered protection against chickenpox on the NHS for the first time.

From BBC

A measles vaccine protects against only measles and a chickenpox vaccine protects against only chickenpox.

From BBC

Other diseases on the AAP’s recommended schedule for immunizations include chickenpox, measles and polio.

From The Wall Street Journal

Health officials will continue to recommend the measles, mumps and rubella vaccines and those against polio, chickenpox and HPV.

From Salon

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023