Elisa

¹ American  

[ih-lis-uh, e-lee-suh] / ɪˈlɪs ə, ɛˈli sə /

Also Elisia

noun

1. a female given name, form of Elizabeth.

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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.

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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

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Etymology

Origin of ELISA

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

Example Sentences

One snippet seems to be an episode on Elisa Lam, the real-life tourist found dead in the rooftop water tank of Los Angeles’ Cecil Hotel.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 11, 2026

Elisa said its services were rerouted and the damage did not impact customers.

From Barron's • Jan. 1, 2026

All 14 crew members were arrested after the cable owned by Finnish telecoms operator Elisa was damaged.

From BBC • Dec. 31, 2025

“They seem to be really focused on cash and on being cautious,” said Elisa Swern, partner and national consumer markets leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers Canada.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 22, 2025

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

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston