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bacteriophage

American  
[bak-teer-ee-uh-fayj] / bækˈtɪər i əˌfeɪdʒ /

noun

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


bacteriophage British  
/ bækˈtɪərɪəˌfeɪdʒ /

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

"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

bacteriophage Scientific  
/ băk-tîr′ē-ə-fāj′ /
  1. A virus that infects and destroys bacterial cells.


Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of bacteriophage

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

Vocabulary lists containing bacteriophage

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

They were then refined to produce a type of virus, known as a bacteriophage, which infect only specific species of bacteria.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

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

From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2025

Each form of bacteriophage is specialized to destroy one form of bacteria.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 26, 2024

Both men separately stumbled onto the bizarre bacteriophage phenomenon in the 1910s, when the bacteria they were growing mysteriously vanished.

From Salon ● Nov. 20, 2024

The toxins of diphtheria bacilli and streptococci are produced when the organisms have been infected by bacteriophage; it is the virus that provides the code for toxin.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas

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