WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
ep•i•de•mi•ol•o•gy
(ep′i dē′mē ol′ə jē, -dem′ē-),USA pronunciation n.
ep•i•de•mi•o•log•i•cal
(ep′i dē′mē ə loj′i kəl, -dem′ē-),USA pronunciation adj.
ep′i•de′mi•o•log′i•cal•ly, adv.
ep′i•de′mi•ol′o•gist, n.
- Medicinethe branch of medicine dealing with the incidence and prevalence of disease in large populations and with detection of the source and cause of epidemics of infectious disease.
- 1870–75; epidemi(c) + -o- + -logy
ep′i•de′mi•ol′o•gist, n.
'epidemiologist' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):