Currently, the world is facing the pandemic generated by SARS-CoV-2 . There are no no pharmacological measures for the prevention or treatment of this infection and, so far, it has caused more than 4´880.000 confirmed cases and 322.000 deaths . The different strategies for the control of the disease that have been proposed involve the participation of different actors . Such participation, guided by legal guidelines based on public health measures, include containment, mitigation, physical isolation, and quarantine . As this is a populationbased problem, information plays a primary role; however, the many new terms hat have arisen and their misuse confuse and, therefore, misinform thus limiting citizen participation . For this reason, we conducted a review of the terms used in epidemics and pandemics of infectious diseases, particularly COVID-19 . We considered and differentiated the relevant terms to facilitate the understanding of pathogen's behavior and epidemic and pandemic cycles, as well as the criteria for public health decision-making for the general public . This glossary should facilitate the use of the terms and standardize the information.