plagues

Noun

plague (countable and uncountable, plural plagues)

1. (capitalized, often, sometimes) The bubonic plague, the pestilent disease caused by the virulent bacterium Yersinia pestis.
   • It was about the beginning of September, 1664, that I, among the rest of my neighbours, heard in ordinary discourse that the plague was returned again in Holland[…] It mattered not from whence it came; but all agreed it was come into Holland again.1722, Daniel Defoe, A Journal of the Plague Year
2. An epidemic or pandemic caused by any pestilence, but especially that caused by the above disease.
   • Great plagues, such as the bubonic plague or smallpox or syphilis or influenza, can happen again.2006, Irwin W. Sherman, chapter 17, in The Power of Plagues, →ISBN

   Synonyms:

   pest, pestilence

3. A widespread affliction, calamity, or destructive influx, especially when seen as divine retribution.
   • Ten Biblical plagues over Egypt, ranging from locusts to the death of the crown prince, finally forced Pharaoh to let Moses's people go.

   Synonyms:

   murrain

4. (figuratively) A grave nuisance, whatever greatly irritates.
   • Bart is an utter plague; his pranks never cease.
5. (collective) A group of common grackles (a blackbird), especially when flocking to e.g. parking lots at night.
   • Plague of Grackles Reminiscent of Hitchcock's ‘The Birds'October 31, 2017, Ben Russell, “Plague of Grackles Reminiscent of Hitchcock's ‘The Birds'”, in NBCDFW

See all 7 meanings of plague