vaccine

IPA/ˈvæksiːn/
KK[vˌæksˈin]IPA/vækˈsiːn/

vaccine — noun

  • vaccinesingular
  • vaccinesplural

1. A medical preparation designed to protect humans or animals from catching a spec

1.nounC2
Definition

A medical preparation designed to protect humans or animals from catching a specific illness. It uses a harmless version of the germ, teaching the body's defences to spot and eliminate the real germ if it enters the body later on.

Example

The nurse gave Nora a vaccine against measles before she started primary school.

collocation: vaccine against [disease]

Doctors recommend that older adults get a flu vaccine every autumn to stay healthy.

collocation: get a [disease] vaccine

Common collocations
  • get / receive / have a vaccine
  • vaccine against / for [disease]
  • develop / create a vaccine
  • administer / give a vaccine
  • flu vaccine / polio vaccine / COVID-19 vaccine
  • safe and effective vaccine
  • a dose of vaccine
Synonyms
  • immunisation

    Refers to the entire process of becoming immune, not the substance itself; broader in meaning.

  • inoculation

    Older, more technical term; often implies a scratch or puncture rather than a standard injection.

  • shot

    Informal and mainly US; refers to the injection itself rather than the medical preparation.

  • jab

    Informal and mainly British; common in everyday speech and news headlines.

Usage Note

Usually followed by 'against' or 'for' to name the target disease (e.g., a vaccine against rabies / a vaccine for measles). Used as both a countable noun ('two different vaccines') and an uncountable noun ('enough vaccine for everyone'). Most vaccines are injected, but some are given orally or as a nasal spray.

Common Mistakes

I need a vaccine of flu.
I need a vaccine for flu.
Use 'for' or 'against' after 'vaccine', not 'of.'
The vaccine prevent disease.
The vaccine prevents disease.
'Vaccine' is a noun; use 'vaccinate' (verb) or 'vaccination' (noun) for the action: 'The vaccination prevents disease.'

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Vaccine' names the actual medical preparation given to produce immunity, while 'immunisation' refers to the broader process of becoming immune — you get a vaccine, but your body undergoes immunisation. 'Inoculation' is an older term that originally meant introducing a small amount of disease material on purpose; today it overlaps with 'vaccination' but sounds more technical. 'Shot' (US informal) and 'jab' (UK informal) refer to the act of receiving the injection rather than the substance itself — you might say 'I got my flu shot' in the US or 'I had my booster jab' in the UK. In formal writing, use 'vaccine' for the product and 'vaccination' for the procedure.

immunisation ↗inoculation ↗shot ↗jab ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • flu
  • polio
  • COVID-19
  • measles
  • rabies

Phrases

  • get a vaccine
  • receive a vaccine
  • develop a vaccine
  • a dose of vaccine
  • life-saving vaccine

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinEnglish

The word comes from Latin 'vacca' meaning 'cow'. In the late 1700s, English doctor Edward Jenner noticed that milkmaids who caught cowpox — a mild disease from cows — did not get smallpox. He created the first vaccine using cowpox material, and named his method 'vaccination' after the cow. The term 'vaccine' later broadened to cover any substance that trains the body's immune system to fight a disease.