bacteriophage

[bak-teer-ee-uh-feyj]

noun

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

bacteriophage

/ 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

bacteriophage

1. A virus that infects and destroys bacterial cells.

Other Word Forms

• bacteriophagic adjective
• bacteriophagous adjective
• bacteriophagy noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of bacteriophage¹

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.

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

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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.

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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.

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

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