or chick·en pox
- 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.
Origin of chickenpox
First recorded in 1720–30
Also called varicella.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for chickenpox
In January, Barbara Walters, 83, suffered from a rare case of chickenpox, leaving her View perch for six weeks.Did ‘The View’ Just Lose Joy Behar and Elisabeth Hasselbeck?
March 8, 2013
Sometimes they break out unexpected, like chickenpox in the 'Old Men's Home.'The Depot Master
Joseph C. Lincoln
The incubation period of chickenpox is from ten to seventeen days.The Mother and Her Child
William S. Sadler
The reader is referred to the article on chickenpox for a consideration of this matter.
It causes an alarm but does not prove mortal, and is probably what we term the chickenpox.The History of Sumatra
If she should do anything so domestic, half Winsted would break out with mumps or chickenpox.The Wide Awake Girls in Winsted
Katharine Ellis Barrett
- 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
- An acute contagious disease, primarily of children, that is caused by the varicella-zoster virus and characterized by skin eruptions, slight fever, and malaise.varicella
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
- 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
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.