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  • Elisa
    Elisa
    noun
    a female given name, form of Elizabeth.
  • ELISA
    ELISA
    noun
    a sensitive diagnostic test for past or current exposure to an infectious agent, as the AIDS virus: a sample of blood is added to proteins from the agent, and any antibodies that combine with the proteins, indicating a history of infection, are detected by adding a test antibody linked to an enzyme that causes a color change.

Elisa

1 American  
[ih-lis-uh, e-lee-suh] / ɪˈlɪs ə, ɛˈli sə /
Also Elisia

noun

  1. a female given name, form of Elizabeth.


ELISA 2 American  
[ih-lahy-zuh, -suh] / ɪˈlaɪ zə, -sə /

noun

  1. Medicine/Medical. a sensitive diagnostic test for past or current exposure to an infectious agent, as the AIDS virus: a sample of blood is added to proteins from the agent, and any antibodies that combine with the proteins, indicating a history of infection, are detected by adding a test antibody linked to an enzyme that causes a color change.

  2. Biology, Medicine/Medical. any similar test using proteins as a probe for the identification of antibodies or antigens.


ELISA British  
/ ɪˈlaɪzə /

acronym

  1. enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay: an immunological technique for accurately measuring the amount of a substance, for example in a blood sample

"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

Etymology

Origin of ELISA

e(nzyme-)l(inked) i(mmuno)s(orbent) a(ssay)

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.

See Examples For:

Signing big-name athletes lends "attention, credibility and relevance", Elisa Harca from marketing agency Red Ant Asia told AFP.

From Barron's Jul. 3, 2026

"I had no idea that I could ever go on tour for cake," laughs Cake Picnic founder Elisa Sunga, part-time hobby baker and full-time Google employee specialising in AI.

From BBC Mar. 28, 2026

I’m traveling, and I travel light, so I didn’t bring many books with me, but I am reading “Malacría,” the first novel by Mexican poet Elisa Díaz Castelo, and I’m liking it.

From Los Angeles Times Mar. 3, 2026

To detect plastic particles inside the insects, Devlin worked with Elisa Bergami, a microplastics specialist at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, and imaging expert Giovanni Birarda at Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste.

From Science Daily Feb. 16, 2026

It was called a rapid Elisa test, and it was sensitive and easy to perform.

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston

Common tests like the ELISA, on which Hallisey based her project, rely on mixtures of protein and water to trigger the chemical reactions that lead to positive or negative results.

From Scientific American Sep. 23, 2015

The boys based their idea off a common testing method that’s been in use for decades, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, or ELISA, reported the BBC.

From Forbes Jun. 25, 2015

Cue’s core technology is modeled after a diagnostic test called ELISA, which uses antibodies and enzymes to bind hormones, proteins, viruses, and bacteria in human samples and then record changes in their color.

From The Wall Street Journal Nov. 18, 2014

An additional lab test: The doctor ordered a Lyme Western blot and ELISA.

From New York Times Aug. 10, 2012

The annual cost of all this testing, including the ELISA, confirmation tests and counseling, would probably be counted in the billions.

From Time Magazine Archive

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