ENGLISH
REFERENCE

vertigo

n. uncountable
C1 Advanced US //ˈvɝtɪˌɡoʊ// UK //vˈɜːtɪɡˌəʊ// ver·ti·go

n. a dizzy feeling where you think you or the things around you are spinning. It often happens when you look down from a very high place.

n. a sensation of spinning or loss of balance, typically caused by looking down from a great height or by disease affecting the inner ear.


SIMPLE

Looking down from the balcony gave her a sudden attack of vertigo.

CONTEXTUAL

The hiker had to sit down on the narrow ridge because the sheer drop caused a bout of vertigo.

COMPLEX

While often used to describe a fear of heights, clinical vertigo involves a vestibular system dysfunction that creates a false sense of rotational movement even when the patient is stationary.

Synonyms
Origin

Borrowed from Latin vertīgō.

Usage

Often used with the verbs 'suffer from', 'experience', or 'trigger'.

Pitfall

I have a vertigoI have vertigoVertigo is uncountable and does not take the indefinite article 'a'.

© 2026 English Reference