chickenpox
part of speech
noun (chickenpox — no plural)
meaning for a pupil
A common illness, mostly of children, caused by a virus, that gives a fever and very itchy red spots that turn into blisters and then scabs. tree →
sense in the lessons
In health lessons, chickenpox is an example of a disease that spreads from person to person through the air and touch; it is very catching, so a child stays home from school until all spots have crusted over. Many countries now give a vaccine against it. Once you have had it, you rarely get it again. Phrases: «have chickenpox», «catch chickenpox», «chickenpox spots».
examples
- My little brother has chickenpox, so he can't go to school. tree →
- Chickenpox spots are very itchy. tree →
- Try not to scratch chickenpox, or it can leave scars. tree →
- Calamine lotion helps the itching. tree →
- Half the class caught chickenpox in one month. tree →
- You stay home until the spots have crusted over. tree →
- I had chickenpox when I was four. tree →
- Some children get a vaccine against chickenpox. tree →
note
Uncountable, used without «a»: «She has chickenpox» (not «a chickenpox»). Also written «chicken pox». It has nothing to do with chickens. The same virus can come back much later as «shingles» in older people. Don't give aspirin to children with chickenpox; ask a doctor about medicine.
In the corpora
- Scratching chickenpox spots can cause infection and scars, so keep nails short and use the cooling lotion an adult gives you.
- Ibuprofen should not be given for chickenpox unless a doctor says so, because it can sometimes lead to serious skin infections.
- Many countries vaccinate against chickenpox, and the UK was reported to have added it to the routine childhood vaccines in 2026.
- Chickenpox spreads through the air as well as by touch, so covering the spots does not stop it.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «chickenpox» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.