epidemiology

noun

ep·​i·​de·​mi·​ol·​o·​gy ˌe-pə-ˌdē-mē-ˈä-lə-jē How to pronounce epidemiology (audio)
-ˌde-mē-
1
: a branch of medical science that deals with the incidence, distribution, and control of disease in a population
2
: the sum of the factors controlling the presence or absence of a disease or pathogen
epidemiological
ˌe-pə-ˌdē-mē-ə-ˈlä-ji-kəl How to pronounce epidemiology (audio) -ˌde-mē- How to pronounce epidemiology (audio)
adjective
or less commonly epidemiologic
ˌe-pə-ˌdē-mē-ə-ˈlä-jik How to pronounce epidemiology (audio)
-ˌde-mē-
epidemiologically
ˌe-pə-ˌdē-mē-ə-ˈlä-ji-k(ə-)lē How to pronounce epidemiology (audio)
-ˌde-mē-
adverb
epidemiologist
ˌe-pə-ˌdē-mē-ˈä-lə-jist How to pronounce epidemiology (audio) -ˌde-mē- How to pronounce epidemiology (audio)
noun

Examples of epidemiology in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Lead author Michael LaMonte, research professor of epidemiology and environmental health at the University at Buffalo, said the entry point can be simple. — Samantha Agate, Sacbee.com, 23 July 2026 The agency says the interviews and the traceback still support the recall, and the recall stands, but the vehicle here was identified by epidemiology alone. — John Drake, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026 Rather than carrying out environmental surveillance through the separate lenses of zoology, botany, microbiology and epidemiology, eDNA acts as a continuous genomic observatory. — Jenny Whilde, The Conversation, 7 July 2026 Ben Lopman is professor of epidemiology and global health at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health. — Ben Lopman, STAT, 2 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for epidemiology

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French, Spanish, or New Latin; French épidémiologie, borrowed from Spanish epidemiología, borrowed from New Latin epidēmiologia, from Medieval Latin epidēmia "disease affecting a large number of individuals, epidemic" + New Latin -o- -o- + -logia -logy — more at epidemic entry 1

Note: New Latin epidēmiologia was used in the title of a treatise by the Calabrian physician Quinto Tiberio Angelerio (1532-1617), Epidemiologia, sive Tractatus de peste (Madrid, 1598), a second edition of his earlier work Ectypa pestilentis status Algheriae Sardiniae (Cagliari, 1588), detailing methods to cope with a plague outbreak in Alghero, Sardinia, in 1582-83. The Latin word was revived by the Spanish physician Joaquín de Villalba (1752-1807) in his Epidemiología española (Madrid, 1802), a history of epidemics in Spain that was widely disseminated in Europe.

First Known Use

1850, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of epidemiology was in 1850

Rhymes for epidemiology

See All Rhymes for epidemiology

Browse Nearby Words

epidemic curve
epidemiology
epidemy
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Epidemiology.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/epidemiology. Accessed 31 Jul. 2026.

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Kids Definition

epidemiology

noun
ep·​i·​de·​mi·​ol·​o·​gy ˌep-ə-ˌdē-mē-ˈäl-ə-jē How to pronounce epidemiology (audio)
1
: a branch of medical science that deals with the occurrence, distribution, and control of disease in a population
2
: the sum of the factors controlling the presence or absence of a particular disease
epidemiological
-mē-ə-ˈläj-i-kəl How to pronounce epidemiology (audio)
adjective
also epidemiologic
-ˈläj-ik How to pronounce epidemiology (audio)

Medical Definition

epidemiology

noun
ep·​i·​de·​mi·​ol·​o·​gy -jē How to pronounce epidemiology (audio)
plural epidemiologies
1
: a branch of medical science that deals with the incidence, distribution, and control of disease in a population
2
: the sum of the factors controlling the presence or absence of a disease or pathogen
epidemiological
-ˌdē-mē-ə-ˈläj-i-kəl How to pronounce epidemiology (audio) -ˌdem-ē- How to pronounce epidemiology (audio)
adjective
also epidemiologic
-ik How to pronounce epidemiology (audio)
epidemiologically
-i-k(ə-)lē How to pronounce epidemiology (audio)
adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on epidemiology

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about epidemiology

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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