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

“Even within the food program, food chemical issues have largely taken a backseat to more traditional food safety issues, like food pathogens, E. coli and foodborne illness outbreaks.”

From Salon • Apr. 11, 2026

The FDA has long warned against consuming raw, unpasteurized milk, citing risks of dangerous bacteria such as salmonella, listeria and E. coli that can lead to severe illness or, in rare cases, death.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 11, 2026

Genome sequencing of E. coli isolated from each patient found that the strains were closely genetically related, suggesting that all of the ill people were exposed to the same source of infection.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 2, 2026

The team sealed E. coli bacteria inside test tubes filled with pure water ice.

From Science Daily • Feb. 25, 2026

Rather than consuming both sugars equally, the E. coli cells had selectively consumed glucose first.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee