- (also the plague)(also bubonic plague)[uncountable]
a disease spread by rats that causes a high temperature, swellings (= areas that are larger and rounder than usual) on the body and usually death 鼠疫： 一种由大鼠传播的疾病，会引起高温，肿胀并通常导致死亡a decline in population following outbreaks of plague 瘟疫爆发后人口的下降
Extra ExamplesTopics Illnessc1Fleas spread plague from animals to humans. 跳蚤将鼠疫从动物传染给人类。 Nearly a third of the population died in the Great Plague. 近三分之一的人口在伦敦大瘟疫中丧生。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- bubonic
- great
- outbreak
- suffer
- spread
- be decimated by
- …
- break out
- start
- strike (something)
- …
- plague of
- [countable]
any disease that spreads quickly and kills a lot of people 死亡率高的传染病；瘟疫 the plague of AIDS 艾滋病这种严重的传染病
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- bubonic
- great
- outbreak
- suffer
- spread
- be decimated by
- …
- break out
- start
- strike (something)
- …
- plague of
- [countable] plague of something
large numbers of an animal or insect that come into an area and cause great damage （大批动物或昆虫肆虐造成的）灾害，祸患 a plague of locusts/rats, etc. 蝗灾、鼠害等
Extra ExamplesTopics Insects, worms, etc.c2The city is suffering a plague of rats. 这个城市正在闹鼠灾。 The region has just suffered a plague of locusts. 该地区刚刚遭受了蝗灾。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- bubonic
- great
- outbreak
- suffer
- spread
- be decimated by
- …
- break out
- start
- strike (something)
- …
- plague of
Word Originlate Middle English: Latin plaga ‘stroke, wound’, probably from Greek (Doric dialect) plaga, from a base meaning ‘strike’.
Idioms
avoid somebody/something like the plague
- (informal)
to try very hard not to meet somebody, do something, etc. 像避瘟疫似的躲着某人（或某事物）；尽量避开某人（或某事物） She's been avoiding me like the plague since the party last Saturday. 自从上周六的聚会以来，她一直躲着我。 I hate office parties—I avoid them like the plague. 我讨厌办公室聚会——我避之不及。