common cold
nounDefinition of common cold
: an acute disease of the upper respiratory tract that is marked by inflammation of the mucous membranes of the nose, throat, eyes, and eustachian tubes and by a watery then purulent discharge and is caused by any of several viruses (such as a rhinovirus or an adenovirus)
Examples of common cold in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In an update on July 29, the Fairfax County Health Department said testing conducted by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on samples from Greenspring identified the virus that causes the common cold. — Washington Post, "Virginia reports higher-than-usual number of respiratory illnesses," 3 Aug. 2019 When your mucus traps potential illness-causing debris, like pathogens that cause the common cold or flu, your immune system sends inflammatory cells such as white blood cells to the area to help destroy the invaders, Dr. Benninger explains. — Carolyn L. Todd, SELF, "Here’s What It Means If You Have Yellow Mucus," 15 Mar. 2019 Virginia health officials noted that laboratory tests identified a variety of causes of the outbreaks, including pathogens for Legionnaire’s disease, flu, the common cold and pertussis, or whooping cough. — Washington Post, "Virginia reports higher-than-usual number of respiratory illnesses," 3 Aug. 2019 But researchers may have identified a compound that can stop some of the most common cold viruses, the rhinovirus, in its tracks, according to a new report published in the journal Nature. — Sy Mukherjee, Fortune, "We Don't Have a Cure for the Common Cold. But This New Treatment Might Stop It in Its Tracks," 14 May 2018 One of the most common reasons a parent takes their child to the pediatrician is for symptoms of a common cold. — Anchorage Daily News, "The Kid’s Doctor: Get smart about antibiotics this cold and flu season," 24 July 2019 Early in her tenure, for instance, Dr. Wen directed her staff to add new pages to the Planned Parenthood website about topics like asthma and the common cold — conditions that its clinics do not typically treat. — New York Times, "A Messy Exit Leaves Planned Parenthood at a Philosophical Crossroads," 17 July 2019 The result is a canon of literature dealing with practically every sort of health issue—from the common cold to cancer, pregnancy to old age. — Jani Actman, National Geographic, "How can traditional Chinese medicine threaten wildlife?," 17 June 2019 Although a 2006 study found viruses on almost two-thirds of hand-contact surfaces in a military gym, most were rhinovirus, the main source of the common cold. — Scott Douglas, sun-sentinel.com, "Your gym is teeming with invisible members: Germs. Here’s how to avoid them.," 29 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'common cold.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more