epidemic

Universal Words noun 1 a large number of cases of a particular disease happening at the same time in a particular community: the outbreak of a flu epidemic * an epidemic of measles * Effectively, tobacco companies will be exporting an epidemic of smoking-related diseases, the campaign suggests. 2 a sudden rapid increase in how often sth bad happens: an epidemic of crime in the inner cities epidemic adjective: Car theft is now reaching epidemic proportions. comparePANDEMIC