germ warfare

noun

1. biological warfare.

germ warfare

noun

1. the military use of disease-spreading bacteria against an enemy Also calledbacteriological warfare

germ warfare

1. The use of microorganisms in war to injure or destroy humans, animals, or crops. This type of warfare is outlawed by international treaty, but facilities for developing biological weapons exist in some countries. ( See bioterrorism (see also bioterrorism ) and biological warfare .)

Word History and Origins

Origin of germ warfare¹

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

Claims included wild stories about secret U.S. germ warfare labs or Nazi conspiracies or that Ukrainian refugees were committing crimes and taking jobs from people who had welcomed them.

From Seattle Times

Russia has amplified numerous anti-U.S. conspiracy theories, including ones claiming the U.S. runs secret germ warfare labs and created HIV as a bioweapon, as well as conspiracy theories accusing Ukraine of being a Nazi state.

From Seattle Times

The Pentagon needs to improve defenses and readiness against biological weapons attacks and is ill-prepared for potential germ warfare attacks from China or other adversaries, according to a new biodefense posture report.

From Washington Times

From its base in Japanese-controlled Harbin in China, Unit 731 and related units injected war prisoners with typhus, cholera and other diseases as research into germ warfare, according to historians and former unit members.

From Seattle Times

The United States once also had a sprawling germ warfare and biological weapons program; those weapons were destroyed in the 1970s.

From New York Times