epidemic
n. countablen. a situation where a disease or a problem spreads very quickly to many people in a specific area. You can use it for health issues or for social problems like crime.
n. a widespread occurrence of an infectious disease in a community at a particular time; by extension, a sudden, rapid increase in the prevalence of a harmful phenomenon.
The flu epidemic kept many children home from school.
Health officials worked around the clock to contain the cholera epidemic before it reached the neighboring provinces.
Sociologists argue that the current loneliness epidemic is a structural byproduct of urban design that prioritizes individual privacy over the spontaneous social interactions found in traditional communal spaces.
From French épidémique, from épidémie, from Medieval Latin epidēmia, reanalysis of plural Late Latin epidēmia, from Ancient Greek ἐπιδήμιος (epidḗmios), from ἐπί (epí, “upon”) + δῆμος (dêmos, “people”). By surface analysis, epi- (“on”) + demic (“of the people”).
Often used metaphorically with 'of' to describe social or economic crises.
the global epidemic of COVID-19the global pandemic of COVID-19An epidemic is restricted to a specific community or region; a pandemic spreads across multiple countries or continents.