Symptom (noun, “SIMP-tum”)
A symptom is a clue that something is wrong.
In medicine and psychology, a symptom is an effect of an illness or condition that a person feels. For example, imagine you wake up with a runny nose, fatigue and a fever. Telling a doctor about these symptoms can help them develop theories about what’s wrong. Perhaps you have the flu or COVID-19.
But symptoms are not the disease or condition itself. For a diagnosis — confirmation of a particular disease or condition — a doctor often runs tests. The doctor chooses tests based on your symptoms. For instance, they might swab your nose or throat to test for the presence of a flu or COVID-19 virus. Experts might describe the results of such tests as signs of illness rather than symptoms — since they are measured, not felt.
Other fields use the word symptom as well. Symptoms do not always refer to physical feelings in these fields. But they do refer to evidence that something is wrong. In engineering, a symptom may be a hint that a structure is not working properly. A strange rattling in a car’s engine, for instance, might be a symptom of engine malfunction.
In a sentence
Teens who sleep in two hours or less on weekends report the lowest symptoms of anxiety.
