E. coli

American  

[ee koh-lahy] / ˈi ˈkoʊ laɪ /

noun

Bacteriology.

1. Escherichia coli: a species of rod-shaped, facultatively anaerobic bacteria in the large intestine of humans and other animals, sometimes pathogenic.

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E. coli British  

/ ˌiːˈkəʊlaɪ /

noun

1. short for Escherichia coli; see Escherichia

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E. coli Scientific  

/ ēkō′lī /

1. A bacillus (Escherichia coli) normally found in the human gastrointestinal tract and occurring in numerous strains, some of which are responsible for diarrheal diseases. Other strains have important experimental uses in molecular biology.

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Etymology

Origin of E. coli

See Escherichia coli ( def. )

Example Sentences

The FDA has yet to confirm that E. coli has been found in any Raw Farm products, he said.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 2, 2026

Unlike E. coli, these bacteria do not swim.

From Science Daily • Mar. 13, 2026

The DC Water spokeswoman said that historically E. coli levels in the Potomac and Anacostia rivers vary widely and that levels reported downstream “cannot be attributed solely to this incident.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 19, 2026

Monahan's own hunch centres on a subtype of the E. coli bacteria in the gut.

From Barron's • Feb. 4, 2026

E. coli can survive by feeding on two very different kinds of sugars—glucose and lactose.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee