: a disease of the human immune system that is characterized cytologically especially by reduction in the numbers of CD4-bearing helper T cells to 20 percent or less of normal thereby rendering the subject highly vulnerable to life-threatening conditions (such as Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia) and to some (such as Kaposi's sarcoma) that become life-threatening and that is caused by infection with HIV commonly transmitted in infected blood especially during illicit intravenous drug use and in bodily secretions (such as semen) during sexual intercourse
Examples of AIDS in a Sentence
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Broadway Care/Equity Fights AIDS donated $50,000 to the Fire Relief Fund.
—
Marc Malkin, Variety, 13 Jan. 2025
Access to surgery was recognized as a global health issue in 2015 by the World Health Organization, however, diseases like HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria receive billions in funding, while surgical care remains marginalized.
—William Jones, USA TODAY, 12 Jan. 2025
In the first 10 months of 2024, there were 258 new HIV and AIDS cases detected in the Ngäbe-Buglé territory, an incidence rate nearly four times higher than the country's urban provinces and Panama City metropolitan area, according to government figures.
—Adam Williams, NPR, 11 Jan. 2025
Segregationist George Wallace made a campaign stop here in 1972, and the following decade, LGBTQ activists held town halls to address the AIDS crisis in a heavily Catholic city.
—Michael Snyder, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Jan. 2025
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Marc Malkin, Variety, 13 Jan. 2025
Access to surgery was recognized as a global health issue in 2015 by the World Health Organization, however, diseases like HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria receive billions in funding, while surgical care remains marginalized.
—William Jones, USA TODAY, 12 Jan. 2025
In the first 10 months of 2024, there were 258 new HIV and AIDS cases detected in the Ngäbe-Buglé territory, an incidence rate nearly four times higher than the country's urban provinces and Panama City metropolitan area, according to government figures.
—Adam Williams, NPR, 11 Jan. 2025
Segregationist George Wallace made a campaign stop here in 1972, and the following decade, LGBTQ activists held town halls to address the AIDS crisis in a heavily Catholic city.
—Michael Snyder, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for AIDS
Dictionary Entries Near AIDS
Cite this Entry
“AIDS.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/AIDS. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
AIDS
noun
: a serious disease of the human immune system marked by destruction of a large proportion of the helper T cells in the body due to infection by the HIV virus commonly transmitted especially in blood and semen
Medical Definition
AIDS
noun
: a disease of the human immune system that is characterized cytologically especially by a reduction in the numbers of CD4-bearing helper T cells to 20 percent or less of normal thereby rendering the subject highly vulnerable to life-threatening conditions (as Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia) and to some that become life threatening (as Kaposi's sarcoma) and that is caused by infection with HIV commonly transmitted in infected blood especially during illicit intravenous drug use and in bodily secretions (as semen) during sexual intercourse
called also acquired immune deficiency syndrome, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
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