vaccine

noun vac·cine \vak-ˈsēn, ˈvak-ˌ\

medical : a substance that is usually injected into a person or animal to protect against a particular disease

Full Definition of VACCINE

: a preparation of killed microorganisms, living attenuated organisms, or living fully virulent organisms that is administered to produce or artificially increase immunity to a particular disease

— vaccine adjective

See vaccine defined for English-language learners

See vaccine defined for kids

Origin of VACCINE

French vaccin, from vaccine cowpox, from New Latin vaccina (in variolae vaccinae cowpox), from Latin, feminine of vaccinus, adjective, of or from cows, from vacca cow; akin to Sanskrit vaśa cow

First Known Use: 1813

Other Biochemistry Terms

bile, biodegradable, capsaicin, keratin, metabolism

Rhymes with VACCINE

Andine, arene, baleen, beguine, Benin, benzene, benzine, Bernstein, between, black bean, boreen, bovine, broad bean, buckbean, caffeine, canteen, carbine, careen, chlorine, chopine, chorine, citrine, codeine, colleen, convene, cotquean, cuisine, dasheen, dauphine, demean, demesne, dry-clean, dudeen, eighteen, Essene, e-zine, fanzine, fascine, fifteen, flavine, fluorine, fourteen, gamine, gangrene, glassine, gyrene, Hellene, hoatzin, horsebean, houseclean, khamsin, Ladin, lateen, latrine, Lublin, machine, malines, marine, moline, moreen, morphine, nankeen, naphthene, Nicene, nineteen, nongreen, obscene, offscreen, on-screen, patine, piscine, poteen, praline, preteen, pristine, propine, Rabin, ratteen, ravine, red bean, routine, saline, saltine, Salween, sardine, sateen, scalene, serene, shagreen, shebeen, siren, Sistine, sixteen, Slovene, snap bean, soybean, spalpeen, string bean, strychnine, subteen, sunscreen, Szczecin, tacrine, takin, taurine, terrene, terrine, thirteen, Tolkien, tontine, tureen, umpteen, unclean, undine, unseen, vitrine, wax bean, white bean, windscreen, yestreen, Yibin, zechin

VACCINE Defined for Kids

vaccine

noun vac·cine \vak-ˈsēn, ˈvak-ˌsēn\

Definition of VACCINE for Kids

: a preparation containing usually killed or weakened microorganisms (as bacteria or viruses) that is given usually by injection to increase protection against a particular disease

Word History of VACCINE

In the late 1700s the English doctor Edward Jenner investigated the old belief that people who contracted a mild disease called cowpox from cows thereby became immune to smallpox, a much more dangerous disease. Jenner documented 23 such cases, where people inoculated with matter from cowpox sores came down with cowpox but then did not contract smallpox. Because variolae vaccinae, literally, “cow pustules,” was the medical Latin name for cowpox, the virus-containing material used for inoculations eventually came to be called vaccine.

Medical Dictionary

vaccine

noun vac·cine \vak-ˈsēn, ˈvak-ˌ\

Medical Definition of VACCINE

: matter or a preparation containing the virus of cowpox used to vaccinate a person against smallpox

: a preparation of killed microorganisms, living attenuated organisms, or living fully virulent organisms that is administered to produce or artificially increase immunity to a particular disease <chicken pox vaccine>; also : a mixture of several such vaccines <measles-mumps-rubella vaccine>

Learn More About VACCINE

Spanish Central: Spanish translation of "vaccine"

Nglish: Translation of "vaccine" for Spanish speakers

Britannica English: Translation of "vaccine" for Arabic speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about "vaccine"

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