- (also the plague)(also bubonic plague)[uncountable]
a disease spread by rats that causes a high temperature, swellings (= areas that are larger and rounder than usual) on the body and usually death a decline in population following outbreaks of plague 瘟疫爆发后人口的下降
Extra ExamplesTopics Illnessc1Fleas spread plague from animals to humans. 跳蚤将鼠疫从动物传染给人类。 Nearly a third of the population died in the Great Plague. 近三分之一的人口在伦敦大瘟疫中丧生。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- bubonic
- great
- outbreak
- suffer
- spread
- be decimated by
- …
- break out
- start
- strike (something)
- …
- plague of
- [countable]
any disease that spreads quickly and kills a lot of people 死亡率高的传染病；瘟疫 the plague of AIDS 艾滋病这种严重的传染病
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- bubonic
- great
- outbreak
- suffer
- spread
- be decimated by
- …
- break out
- start
- strike (something)
- …
- plague of
- [countable] plague of something
large numbers of an animal or insect that come into an area and cause great damage （大批动物或昆虫肆虐造成的）灾害，祸患 a plague of locusts/rats, etc. 蝗灾、鼠害等
Extra ExamplesTopics Insects, worms, etc.c2The city is suffering a plague of rats. 这个城市正在闹鼠灾。 The region has just suffered a plague of locusts. 该地区刚刚遭受了蝗灾。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- bubonic
- great
- outbreak
- suffer
- spread
- be decimated by
- …
- break out
- start
- strike (something)
- …
- plague of
Word Originlate Middle English: Latin plaga ‘stroke, wound’, probably from Greek (Doric dialect) plaga, from a base meaning ‘strike’.
Idioms
avoid somebody/something like the plague
- (informal)
to try very hard not to meet somebody, do something, etc. 像避瘟疫似的躲着某人（或某事物）；尽量避开某人（或某事物） She's been avoiding me like the plague since the party last Saturday. 自上周六聚会以来，她一直像瘟疫一样躲避我。 I hate office parties—I avoid them like the plague. 我讨厌办公室聚会，我避免像瘟疫一样躲避他们。