infects

Verb

infect (third-person singular simple present infects, present participle infecting, simple past and past participle infected)

1. (transitive) To bring (the body or part of it) into contact with a substance that causes illness (a pathogen), so that the pathogen begins to act on the body; (of a pathogen) to come into contact with (a body or body part) and begin to act on it.
   • Not everyone will be infected when an epidemic strikes.
2. (transitive) To contaminate (an object or substance) with a pathogen.

   Synonyms:

   leper

3. (transitive) To make somebody enthusiastic about one's own passion, or to communicate a feeling to others, or a feeling communicating itself to others.
   • Her passion for dancing has infected me.
4. (transitive) Of a computer virus: to insert its own code into (another executable file).

See all 6 meanings of infect