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

Tracing its source poses particular difficulties for two reasons: an incubation period of up to two weeks before symptoms first appear, and lack of a genetic fingerprint, unlike, say, E. coli.

From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026

Now it’s looking only for Salmonella and E. coli.

From Slate ● Jul. 17, 2026

The researchers studied a biofilm made up of E. coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 17, 2026

In late 2006, Taco Bell also struggled with an E. coli outbreak.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

“Did you know you can get E. coli from salmon? It can kill you.”

From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi