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occupational disease

Definition of Occupational Disease

(noun) A disease caused by conditions of one’s occupation, such as exposure to toxic substances or repetitive motion.

Example of Occupational Disease

  • Office and factory workers are at risk for carpal tunnel syndrome.

Occupational Disease Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: oc·cu·pa·tion·al dis·ease

Audio Pronunciation

– American English
– British English

Phonetic Spelling

  • American English – /ahk-yuh-pAY-shuhn-l di-zEEz/
  • British English – /ok-yu-pAY-shuh-nuhl di-zEEz/

International Phonetic Alphabet

  • American English – /ɑkjəˈpeɪʃənəl dɪˈziz/
  • British English – /ˌɒkju(ː)ˈpeɪʃənl dɪˈziːz/

Usage Notes

  • Plural: occupational diseases
  • An occupational disease can lead to a disability.
  • Also called industrial disease.

Additional Information

Related Terms


Works Consulted

Bender, David A. 2014. A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. 4th ed. New York: Oxford University Press.

Kent, Michael. 2007. The Oxford Dictionary of Sports Science & Medicine. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press.

Last, John M, ed. 2007. A Dictionary of Public Health. New York: Oxford University Press.

Martin, Elizabeth, ed. 2010. Concise Medical Dictionary. 8th ed. New York: Oxford University Press.

Martin, Elizabeth, and Robert Hine, eds. 2008. A Dictionary of Biology. 6th ed. New York: Oxford University Press.

Martin, Elizabeth, and Tanya A. McFerran, eds. 2014. A Dictionary of Nursing. 6th ed. New York: Oxford University Press.

Merriam-Webster. (N.d.) Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/).

Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).

Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).

Cite the Definition of Occupational Disease

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “occupational disease.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved December 2, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/occupational-disease/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

occupational disease. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/occupational-disease/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “occupational disease.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed December 2, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/occupational-disease/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“occupational disease.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 2 Dec. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/occupational-disease/>.