coronavirus
part of speech
noun (a coronavirus, coronaviruses; the coronavirus)
meaning for a pupil
1) One of a family of viruses that can cause illnesses in people and animals, from a common cold to serious illnesses. Under a microscope they have spikes that look like a crown. tree →
2) (everyday) The virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic that spread around the world from 2020, and the illness it caused. tree →
sense in the lessons
In science and health lessons it is an example of a virus and how germs spread through coughs, sneezes and touch; it is why we learned handwashing, masks and staying home when ill. In history it names the pandemic years with lockdowns and online school. People often say «Covid» for short.
examples
- The coronavirus spread around the world in 2020. tree →
- Coronaviruses are named after the crown-like spikes on their surface. tree →
- During the coronavirus lockdown we had school on the computer. tree →
- Some colds are caused by a coronavirus. tree →
- Wash your hands to stop viruses like the coronavirus spreading. tree →
- Scientists made vaccines against the coronavirus. tree →
- My nan stayed home a lot while the coronavirus was spreading. tree →
note
«Corona» is Latin for «crown». Plural «coronaviruses». COVID-19 is the illness; SARS-CoV-2 is the virus's scientific name. Antibiotics do not kill viruses; that is a common myth.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «coronavirus» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.