A virus is most commonly a tiny infectiousable to spread from one organism to another and cause disease agent that can only reproducemake more of itself or create new copies inside living cells. The word is also used for harmfulable to cause damage, injury, or bad effects computer software and, more broadly, for something that spreads and causes harm.
Reviewed with OpenAI Decisions. Assessment: accurate. Checked: 2026-10-17. AI assessment; not a guarantee of accuracy.
Pronunciation
AI-generated pronunciation audio (OpenAI).
Accent: General American English
IPA: /ˈvaɪrəs/
Easy pronunciation: VY-russ (approximate spelling).
Stress: Stress the first syllable.
Primary sense: a tiny infectious agent that can reproduce only inside living cells.
Reviewed with OpenAI Decisions. Assessment: accurate. Checked: 2026-10-17. AI assessment; not a guarantee of accuracy.
Virus Meaning
a tiny germ that infects living things and can multiply only inside their cells
Part of speech: noun
Definition: an ultramicroscopic infectious agent that can reproduce only inside the cells of living hosts
Example: The flu is caused by a virus that spreads easily in winter.
Reviewed with OpenAI Decisions. Assessment: accurate. Checked: 2026-10-17. AI assessment; not a guarantee of accuracy.
Other Meanings of Virus
Meaning 2
a harmful computer program that copies itself and damages files or software
Part of speech: noun
Definition: a software program capable of reproducing itself and usually capable of causing great harm to files or other programs on the same computer
Example: My laptop was slowed down by a virus attached to a fake email link.
Synonyms for this meaning:
- computer virus — A direct synonym for the software sense.
Meaning 3
something that spreads and causes harm, especially in a figurative way
Part of speech: noun
Definition: a harmful or corrupting agency
Example: Fear can spread like a virus through a crowd.
Reviewed with OpenAI Decisions. Assessment: uncertain — manual review needed. Checked: 2026-10-17. AI assessment; not a guarantee of accuracy.
Virus Synonyms
computer malware sense
- computer virus
Reviewed with OpenAI Decisions. Assessment: accurate. Checked: 2026-10-17. AI assessment; not a guarantee of accuracy.
Common Mistakes
- People sometimes use virus to mean any illness, but it specifically refers to the infectious agent causing the illness.
- The computer sense of virus is different from the biological sense and should not be mixed with it.
- In figurative use, virus can describe something harmful that spreads, but that does not make it a direct synonym for every disease word.
Reviewed with OpenAI Decisions. Assessment: accurate. Checked: 2026-10-17. AI assessment; not a guarantee of accuracy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does virus mean?
Virus usually means a tiny infectious agent that can only reproduce inside living cells. It can also mean harmful computer software, or something harmful that spreads metaphorically.
What is the most common meaning of virus?
The most common everyday meaning is the biological one: a tiny infectious agent that causes disease in living things.
What are the best synonyms for virus?
For the computer sense, computer virus is the clear synonym given in the source data. For the biological sense, there are not many true one-word synonyms that work as direct substitutes in everyday English.
Reviewed with OpenAI Decisions. Assessment: accurate. Checked: 2026-10-17. AI assessment; not a guarantee of accuracy.
