1plague 
/ˈpleɪg/ noun
plural plagues /ˈpleɪg/ noun 1 [count] old-fashioned : a large number of harmful or annoying things
▪ The country was hit by a plague of natural disasters that year. ▪ a plague of locusts ▪ There has been a plague of bank robberies in the area. 2 a : a disease that causes death and that spreads quickly to a large number of people [count] ▪ a plague that swept through the tribe in the 1600s [noncount] ▪ a time of plague
b [noncount] : bubonic plague
▪ an outbreak of (the) plague
▪ The country was hit by a plague of natural disasters that year. ▪ a plague of locusts ▪ There has been a plague of bank robberies in the area.
b [noncount] : bubonic plague
▪ an outbreak of (the) plague
avoid (someone or something) like the plague
informal : to stay away as much as possible from (someone or something)
▪ I avoid my weird neighbor like the plague.
▪ I avoid my weird neighbor like the plague.
