halophile

American

[hal-uh-fahyl] / ˈhæl əˌfaɪl /

noun

Microbiology.

any organism, most commonly a species of archaea, that requires a salt-rich environment for its growth and survival.

halophile British

/ ˈhæləʊˌfaɪl /

noun

an organism that thrives in an extremely salty environment, such as the Dead Sea

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of halophile

First recorded in 1835–45; halo- + -phile

Example Sentences

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See Examples For:

halophile

One extreme halophile and the thermoacidophile Sulfolobus were known to be exceptions to this generalization; they were considered to have an idiosyncratic wall structure.

From Scientific American ● Jan. 1, 2013

One extreme halophile and the thermoacidophile been that they have a cell wall incorporating the sugar derivative muramic acid, which is the basis of a complex polymer called a peptidoglycan.

From Scientific American ● Jan. 1, 2013

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023