bacteriophage

American  

[bak-teer-ee-uh-feyj] / bækˈtɪər i əˌfeɪdʒ /

noun

1. any of a group of viruses that infect specific bacteria, usually causing their disintegration or dissolution.

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bacteriophage British  

/ bækˌtɪərɪˈɒfəɡəs, bækˈtɪərɪəˌfeɪdʒ, bækˌtɪərɪəˈfædʒɪk /

noun

1. Often shortened to: phage.  a virus that is parasitic in a bacterium and multiplies within its host, which is destroyed when the new viruses are released

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bacteriophage Scientific  

/ băk-tîr′ē-ə-fāj′ /

1. A virus that infects and destroys bacterial cells.

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Other Word Forms

• bacteriophagic adjective
• bacteriophagous adjective
• bacteriophagy noun

Etymology

Origin of bacteriophage

First recorded in 1920–25; from French bactériophage; bacterio-, -phage

Example Sentences

Lead author Dr. James Hodgkinson-Bean, who completed his PhD in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, says bacteriophages are "extremely exciting" to scientists searching for alternatives to antibiotics as antimicrobial resistance continues to rise.

From Science Daily

They're known as bacteria eaters, or bacteriophage, or commonly as phage.

From BBC

The test uses harmless bacteriophages embedded in the gel to locate target bacteria in a sample of fluid such as lake water, urine or a container of milk, even in low concentrations.

From Science Daily

With the rapid development of antibiotics in the 1930s, phage therapy -- using viruses known as bacteriophages or phages to tackle bacterial infections -- fell into oblivion.

From Science Daily

And that solution, she writes, has been sitting on the shelves of a bacteriophage institute in Tbilisi, Georgia, for decades.

From Salon