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

See Examples For:

E. coli

The agency still has its eyes on Salmonella and a form of E. coli, but due to an onslaught of funding cuts and staffing shortages, it has had to shift priorities.

From Salon ● Jul. 10, 2026

The Los Angeles Department of Power and Water issued a boil-water notice on Wednesday for a two-block area of Koreatown after routine testing came back positive for E. coli, the department said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026

Chris had a dangerous strain of E. coli, known as O157:H7, which led to hemolytic uremic syndrome.

From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026

Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service confirmed the ground beef supplied by Olympia Foods was contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 2026

Jacob worked at the other end of the attic, experimenting with a virus that infected E. coli.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee