: any of several diseases of humans and domestic animals usually marked by severe gastrointestinal symptoms
especially
: an acute diarrheal disease caused by an enterotoxin produced by a comma-shaped gram-negative bacillus (Vibrio cholerae synonym V. comma) when it is present in large numbers in the proximal (see proximal sense 2) part of the human small intestine
Examples of cholera in a Sentence
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Haffkine, little known to the general public, was the Ukrainian-Jewish scientist whose work on cholera and plague vaccines in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries helped save millions of lives.
—
Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 15 May 2026
Shifting rainfall alters the ecology of cholera.
—John Drake, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026
The camp was rife with illnesses, including cholera, and Ibrahim became severely sick.
—Annie Hylton, New Yorker, 14 May 2026
Hospital is an oasis Inside the sprawling slum, where gang violence has left scores of children orphaned, rapes of women and girls are frequent and cholera, hunger and malnutrition remain entrenched, La Fontaine is widely seen as both an oasis and a lifeline.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 14 May 2026
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Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 15 May 2026
Shifting rainfall alters the ecology of cholera.
—John Drake, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026
The camp was rife with illnesses, including cholera, and Ibrahim became severely sick.
—Annie Hylton, New Yorker, 14 May 2026
Hospital is an oasis Inside the sprawling slum, where gang violence has left scores of children orphaned, rapes of women and girls are frequent and cholera, hunger and malnutrition remain entrenched, La Fontaine is widely seen as both an oasis and a lifeline.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 14 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for cholera
Cite this Entry
“Cholera.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cholera. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
cholera
noun
chol·era
ˈkäl-ə-rə 
: any of several diseases usually marked by severe vomiting and diarrhea
Medical Definition
cholera
noun
chol·era
ˈkäl-ə-rə
: any of several diseases of humans and domestic animals usually marked by severe gastrointestinal symptoms: as
a
: an acute diarrheal disease caused by an enterotoxin produced by various strains of a comma-shaped gram-negative bacterium of the genus Vibrio (V. cholerae) when it is present in large numbers in the proximal part of the human small intestine see asiatic cholera
b
c
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