What this suffix does
-borne attaches to the means of transport or transmission: airborne, waterborne, seaborne. Very common in medicine to classify how something spreads: "a vector-borne disease" (spread by something like a mosquito).
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Suffix · forms adjectives
-borne
Combines with the word for the carrying medium: air + borne = airborne; water + borne = waterborne.
In Spanish: transmitido por / transportado por / llevado porIntermediate
Written by Bryan López, English teacher · Updated
How it is formed
Noun (medium of transport or transmission) + borne.
- air + borneairborne (carried through the air)
- water + bornewaterborne (transmitted through water)
- sea + borneseaborne (transported by sea)
This is not a productive rule you can apply freely: it is a closed set of fixed expressions. Learn them one by one as set phrases.
How it is pronounced
-borne
Tap the button to hear how the ending sounds. Each word in the table has its own audio.
Examples
Base word
With -borne
In a phrase
- airairborneThe doctor said the virus is airborne, so we all need masks.
- waterwaterborneBoiling water can prevent many waterborne diseases.
- seaseaborneMost of the country's trade arrives by seaborne cargo ships.
- windwindborneThe windborne seeds spread across the whole field.
- vectorvector-borneMalaria is a vector-borne disease spread by mosquitoes.
Common mistakes
airborne = currently in the air (only about flight)
airborne = carried or transmitted through the air; can describe particles, pathogens, seeds, troops
"Airborne" in everyday use often means "in flight" ("the plane is airborne"). In medical and scientific contexts it specifically means "transmitted through the air" — describing pathogens, particles, or allergens that move from person to person or surface to air through suspended particles. The compound is not about flight status but about the air as the medium of transmission.
vector-borne = only a technical medical term
vector-borne is used in journalism, policy, and general non-fiction whenever discussing disease transmission
"Vector-borne" has moved from purely technical use into general journalism and public health communication. A "vector" is any organism (usually an insect) that carries a pathogen from one host to another. "Vector-borne" therefore describes any disease or transmission process that uses such a carrier. The compound is essential vocabulary for anyone reading about infectious disease.
A trick to remember it
"Borne" comes from "bear" (to carry). Picture the air literally carrying something: air-BORNE = the air carries it from place to place.
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Form the word
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
"airborne" describes something spread through...
Frequently asked questions
What does the suffix -borne mean in English?
The suffix -borne combines with the word for the carrying medium: air + borne = airborne; water + borne = waterborne. In Spanish it usually maps to transmitido por / transportado por / llevado por.
Can you give an example of a word with -borne?
"air" becomes "airborne". It is a typical example of the -borne suffix.
Other useful suffixes
-laden
Means "loaded with": snow-laden (loaded with snow) and guilt-laden (weighed down by guilt).
-ridden
Forms adjectives describing something persistently dominated or plagued by something negative: guilt-ridden, debt-ridden, crime-ridden, anxiety-ridden, corruption-ridden.
-winged
Describes the type or size of wings: broad-winged (having broad wings) and swift-winged (fast in flight).
Learn every English suffix
-tion, -ness, -ful, -ly, -able... every ending you need to understand thousands of words at once.