# vertigo

/ˈvɝtɪˌɡoʊ/ (US) · /vˈɜːtɪɡˌəʊ/ (UK) · CEFR C1 · Noun

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/vertigo
Updated: 2026-05-08

## Definition

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.

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

## Examples

- Looking down from the balcony gave her a sudden attack of vertigo.
- The hiker had to sit down on the narrow ridge because the sheer drop caused a bout of vertigo.
- 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.

## Pitfalls

- Not "I have a vertigo" but "I have vertigo" — Vertigo is uncountable and does not take the indefinite article 'a'.

## Usage notes

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

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