epizootic
adjective
1. (of animals) epidemic among animals of a single kind within a particular region
- an epizootic disease
Similar word(s): epidemic
Sentences with epizootic as an adjective:
- Epizootic plague occurred in the mice following introduction of rats from Europe.
noun
1. (epidemiology) An occurrence of a disease or disorder in a population of non-human animals at a frequency higher than that expected in a given time period. Compare epidemic.
- At the same time as an epidemic of the flu broke out among the people, an epizootic of the swine flu broke out among their pigs.
2. A particular epizootic (epizootically-occurring) disease.
3. (dialectal, humorous, often in the plural) A disease or ailment.
- Johnny's not doing so well today, I think he caught the epizootic.