intermediate host

American  

noun

Biology.

1. the host in which a parasite undergoes development but does not reach sexual maturity.

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intermediate host British  

noun

1. an animal that acts as host to a parasite that has not yet become sexually mature

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intermediate host Scientific  

/ ĭn′tər-mē′dē-ĭt /

1. See under host

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Etymology

Origin of intermediate host

First recorded in 1875–80

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Compare meaning

How does intermediate-host compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• definitive host vs. intermediate host

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

intermediate host

The 2009 swine H1N1 virus was a mixing event that led to mammalian adaptation, a process that is not straightforward in any intermediate host.

From Salon ● Apr. 18, 2024

Viruses such as SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV-1, Nipah, Hendra and possibly Ebola have all fatally spilled over from bats to humans, sometimes through an intermediate host.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 26, 2024

Even if raccoon dogs at the market were infected, they might have been an intermediate host, picking up the virus from bats or another species.

From New York Times ● Mar. 17, 2023

It’s an oddity that’s drawn renewed attention since COVID-19 broke out in humans—many scientists suspect the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 leaped from bats into people, directly or via an intermediate host.

From Science Magazine ● Feb. 21, 2023

Having for years given much thought to this subject, I became some time since impressed with the view that probably in yellow fever, as in the malarial fevers, there is an "intermediate host."

From The Making of Arguments by J. H. Gardiner

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