biowarfare

noun

bio·​war·​fare ˌbī-ō-ˈwȯr-ˌfer How to pronounce biowarfare (audio)

Examples of biowarfare in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Some conspiracy theories even alleged that the global humanitarian programs were a cover for biowarfare research or that USAID’s funding enriched a few elites who control the world, but those claims were outside the mainstream. Elizabeth Both, NBC News, 7 Feb. 2025 Researchers determined that the SARS-CoV-2 virus emerged from horseshoe bats rather than a biowarfare lab, and generally agreed that pangolins, rather than snakes, were the likely intermediary carriers, although some support was voiced for turtles. Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harper's Magazine, 25 May 2020 These are core military functions, particularly in terms of biowarfare and biodefense. James Stavridis, Time, 23 Mar. 2020 In the United States, meanwhile, a China expert suggested that the virus was linked to China’s biowarfare program. Yanzhong Huang, Foreign Affairs, 5 Mar. 2020 But even more than the treaty, biowarfare has been held back by the fact that biological weapons have been difficult to develop, deploy, and — should they be used — control. Joshua Keating, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018

Word History

First Known Use

1951, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of biowarfare was in 1951

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Cite this Entry

“Biowarfare.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/biowarfare. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Medical Definition

biowarfare

noun
bio·​war·​fare
ˌbī-ō-ˈwȯr-ˌfer
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