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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.


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

"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-tîrē-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.

Once assembled, the genome is introduced into a safe laboratory strain where it becomes an active bacteriophage.

From Science Daily • Jan. 21, 2026

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

From BBC • Jun. 27, 2025

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

In the new study, researchers modified DNA from a bacteriophage or "phage," a type of virus that infects and replicates inside of bacteria.

From Science Daily • Jan. 31, 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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