noun
pox
pahks
noun
1
A disease that causes spots or pockmarks on the skin, such as chickenpox or smallpox.
"The vaccine all but eliminated smallpox, once a deadly pox."
2
A curse, especially as expressed in the phrase "a pox on".
"A pox on both their houses, she muttered after the argument."
How to Use Pox
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA skin disease marked by spots, or, as an old-fashioned curse, a wish of bad luck on someone.
Common pairings
chickenpox
a pox on
Word Forms
poxed past tense, poxes plural, poxes singular
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The vaccine all but eliminated smallpox, once a deadly _____.
Etymology
From the plural of Middle English pocke, "pock" — the curse sense comes from the old habit of literally wishing the disease on an enemy.