cold sore

1. 1.

   caused by herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1)

   Synonymsoral herpesherpes labialisfever blister

   Broaderherpes simplex

Questions about cold sore

What does cold sore mean?

cold sore means "caused by herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1)".

What is another word for cold sore?

Close synonyms include oral herpes, herpes labialis, fever blister. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is cold sore a common word?

cold sore is banded "Uncommon" — turns up in careful writing rather than conversation. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.