Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1500-1600
Language: Latin
Origin: 'thick slippery liquid, poison, bad smell'

virus

 noun
     
Related topics: Microbes, Genetics, Biochem, Computers
vi‧rus
1 [uncountable and countable]HBM a very small living thing that causes infectious illnesses:
children infected with the Aids virus
2TD [countable]TD a set of instructions secretly put onto a computer or computer program, which can destroy information. When a computer that has a virus makes a connection with another computer, for example by email, the virus can make copies of itself and move to the other computer
3 [countable] a program that sends a large number of annoying messages to many people's mobile phones in an uncontrolled way
WORD FOCUS: computer WORD FOCUS: computer
people who work with computers: user, programmer, web designer, IT person, software engineer, (systems) analyst, administrator, webmaster, helpdesk, techie informal, geek disapproving informal
someone who tries to break into a computer system: hacker, cracker
things you do with your computer: start up/power up your computer
open a file or document
enter information
click on an icon
cut and paste pieces of text
copy files or programs
scroll up and down the page
delete things you do not want
download files or pictures from the Internet
burn CDs or DVDs
close a file or document
save your work
shut down your computer
computer problems: bug, virus, error, corrupted file/data, crash, wormcomputer

➔ See also computer
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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