Meanings
nounindex case (plural index cases)
plural index cases
- epidemiologyThe first documented case in a disease epidemic within a population or the first case of interest in an epidemiological investigation: the case of patient zero (the index patient).
Translations
Catalan cas índex, pacient zero
- cas índexfirst documented patient in a disease epidemic
- pacient zerofirst documented patient in a disease epidemic
Finnish indeksitapaus
- indeksitapausfirst documented patient in a disease epidemic
French patient zéro
- patient zérofirst documented patient in a disease epidemic
German Indexpatient
- Indexpatientfirst documented patient in a disease epidemic
Italian caso indice, paziente zero
- caso indicefirst documented patient in a disease epidemic
- paziente zerofirst documented patient in a disease epidemic
Polish przypadek wskazujący
- przypadek wskazującyfirst documented patient in a disease epidemic
Portuguese caso índice, paciente zero
- caso índicefirst documented patient in a disease epidemic
- paciente zerofirst documented patient in a disease epidemic
Russian нулево́й пацие́нт
- нулево́й пацие́нт (nulevój paciént)first documented patient in a disease epidemic
Spanish caso índice, paciente cero
- caso índicefirst documented patient in a disease epidemic
- paciente cerofirst documented patient in a disease epidemic
Ukrainian нульо́вий паціє́нт
- нульо́вий паціє́нт (nulʹóvyj pacijént)first documented patient in a disease epidemic
Cite this entry
APA
index case. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/index%20case
MLA
“index case.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/index%20case. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “index case,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/index%20case.
Source: index case on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.