Spanish flu

American  

[span-ish floo] / ˈspæn ɪʃ ˈflu /

Also Spanish influenza

noun

Pathology.

1. the pandemic strain of type A influenza that spread throughout the world during 1918–20: it is also referred to as the 1918 flu pandemic or 1918 influenza pandemic .

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Etymology

Origin of Spanish flu

First recorded in 1918; so called because wartime censorship in the major belligerent powers, particularly the U.S., Great Britain, Germany, and France, minimized early reports of illness and mortality among themselves but freely reported the effects of the pandemic in neutral Spain, leaving the impression that Spain was very hard hit by this flu

Compare meaning

How does spanish-flu compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• Spanish flu vs. Black Death
• Spanish flu vs. Black Plague

Example Sentences

But the pandemic of Spanish flu after the First World War killed around 50 million people worldwide.

From BBC • Apr. 21, 2026

Before that, the lowest growth rate was just under 0.5% in 1919 at the height of the Spanish flu.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 27, 2026

Muldoon died of a heart attack in 1929 in Tacoma at age 41, possibly weakened by his Spanish flu bout from 1919.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 2, 2024

From the Athenian plague to the Black Death to the Spanish flu pandemic, these significant outbreaks of diseases have had profound effects on societies and they aren’t going anywhere any time soon.

From Salon • Feb. 7, 2024

So what if I can speak firsthand about the Spanish flu, the advent of the automobile, world wars, cold wars, guerrilla wars, and Sputnik—that’s all ancient history now.

From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen