lyse

¹ American

[lahys] / laɪs /

verb (used with object)

lysed, lysing

to cause dissolution or destruction of cells by lysins.

verb (used without object)

lysed, lysing

to undergo lysis.

-lyse ² American

Chiefly British.

variant of -lyze.

lyse British

/ laɪz, laɪs /

verb

to undergo or cause to undergo lysis

"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 lyse

1925–30; back formation from lysin or lysis

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.

When these lypABC genes were deleted, bacteria could no longer lyse to release GTA particles.

From Science Daily • Apr. 17, 2026

To get inside the host cell, the virus forces the cell to lyse, or break open.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

In a lytic infection, a virus enters a bacterial cell, makes copies of itself, and causes the cell to burst, or lyse.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2018

This may cause an animal cell to burst, or lyse.

From Textbooks • Apr. 25, 2013

During a DNA extraction, a detergent will cause the cell to pop open, or lyse, so that the DNA is released into solution.

From Scientific American • Jan. 31, 2013

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