virion

[ vahy-ree-on, vir-ee- ]

noun
  1. the infectious form of a virus as it exists outside the host cell, consisting of a nucleic acid core, a protein coat, and, in some species, an external envelope.

Origin of virion

1
<French virion (1959), equivalent to viri(en) viral (see virus, -ian) + -on-on1

Words Nearby virion

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for virion

virion

/ (ˈvaɪrɪən) /


noun
  1. a virus in infective form, consisting of an RNA particle within a protein covering

Origin of virion

1
C20: from vir (us) + ion

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for virion

virion

[ rē-ŏn′, vîrē- ]


  1. A complete viral particle, consisting of RNA or DNA surrounded by a protein shell and constituting the infective form of a virus. The shell, called a capsid, protects the interior core that includes the genome and other proteins. After the virion binds to the surface of a specific host cell, its DNA or RNA is injected into the host cell and viral replication occurs with eventual spread of the infection to other host cells.

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