VIRUS

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does virus mean? 

• VIRUS (noun)
  The noun VIRUS has 3 senses:

1. (virology) ultramicroscopic infectious agent that replicates itself only within cells of living hosts; many are pathogenic; a piece of nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) wrapped in a thin coat of protein

2. a harmful or corrupting agency

3. a software program capable of reproducing itself and usually capable of causing great harm to files or other programs on the same computer

  Familiarity information: VIRUS used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• VIRUS (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(virology) ultramicroscopic infectious agent that replicates itself only within cells of living hosts; many are pathogenic; a piece of nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) wrapped in a thin coat of protein

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("virus" is a kind of...):

micro-organism; microorganism (any organism of microscopic size)

infectious agent; infective agent (an agent capable of producing infection)

Domain category:

virology (the branch of medical science that studies viruses and viral diseases)

Domain member category:

virion ((virology) a complete viral particle; nucleic acid and capsid (and a lipid envelope in some viruses))

atrophic arthritis; rheumatism; rheumatoid arthritis (a chronic autoimmune disease with inflammation of the joints and marked deformities; something (possibly a virus) triggers an attack on the synovium by the immune system, which releases cytokines that stimulate an inflammatory reaction that can lead to the destruction of all components of the joint)

inoculant; inoculum (a substance (a virus or toxin or immune serum) that is introduced into the body to produce or increase immunity to a particular disease)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "virus"):

arborvirus; arbovirus (a large heterogeneous group of RNA viruses divisible into groups on the basis of the virions; they have been recovered from arthropods, bats, and rodents; most are borne by arthropods; they are linked by the epidemiologic concept of transmission between vertebrate hosts by arthropod vectors (mosquitoes, ticks, sandflies, midges, etc.) that feed on blood; they can cause mild fevers, hepatitis, hemorrhagic fever, and encephalitis)

bacteriophage; phage (a virus that is parasitic (reproduces itself) in bacteria)

plant virus (a plant pathogen that is a virus consisting of a single strand of RNA)

animal virus (an animal pathogen that is a virus)

slow virus (a virus that remains dormant in the body for a long time before symptoms appear)

tumor virus (a cell-free filtrate held to be a virus responsible for a specific neoplasm)

vector ((genetics) a virus or other agent that is used to deliver DNA to a cell)

Derivation:

viral (relating to or caused by a virus)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A harmful or corrupting agency

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Context example:

the virus of jealousy is latent in everyone

Hypernyms ("virus" is a kind of...):

agency; delegacy; representation (the state of serving as an official and authorized delegate or agent)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A software program capable of reproducing itself and usually capable of causing great harm to files or other programs on the same computer

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

computer virus; virus

Context example:

a true virus cannot spread to another computer without human assistance

Hypernyms ("virus" is a kind of...):

malevolent program (a computer program designed to have undesirable or harmful effects)

 Context examples 

Includes the Abelson, AKR, Friend, Moloney, Gross, and other leukemia viruses.

(Mouse Leukemia Virus, NCI Thesaurus)

It is usually caused by viruses and less often bacteria.

(Acute Pharyngitis, NCI Thesaurus)

The same viruses that cause colds and the flu often cause acute bronchitis.

(Acute Bronchitis, NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

Bacteria, viruses, parasites and swallowed objects can all lead to abscesses.

(Abscess, NIH)

It is caused by bacteria, viruses, or vocal strain.

(Acute Laryngitis, NCI Thesaurus)

Although its mechanism of action is not fully known the effects seem to be due to an influence on the virus host-cell system.

(Moroxydine, NCI Thesaurus)

A natural plant alkyloid with activity against human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) 1 and 2.

(Michellamine B, NCI Thesaurus)

It is often associated with Epstein-Barr virus infection, hepatitis B infection or cytomegalovirus infection.

(Acrodermatitis, NCI Thesaurus)

According to new research, the smallest nanodroplet of water in which ice can form is only as big as 90 water molecules — a tenth the size of the smallest virus.

(Scientists probe the limits of ice, National Science Foundation)

The collection of all the microorganisms and viruses that live in a given environment, including the human body or part of the body, such as the digestive system.

(Microbiome, NCI Dictionary)