merozoite

American

[mer-uh-zoh-ahyt] / ˌmɛr əˈzoʊ aɪt /

noun

(in the asexual reproduction of certain sporozoans) a cell developed from a schizont that parasitizes a red blood cell in the host.

merozoite British

/ ˌmɛrəʊˈzəʊaɪt /

noun

any of the cells formed by fission of a schizont during the life cycle of sporozoan protozoans, such as the malaria parasite Compare trophozoite

"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 merozoite

First recorded in 1895–1900; mero- + zo- + -ite ¹

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.

If researchers could replicate these changes in the lab, Hakimi reasoned, they’d be able to take an asexual parasite and force it to form a merozoite, even outside of a cat.

From Science Magazine

I.-IV represents the schizogony, commencing with infection of an epithelial cell by a sporozoite or merozoite.

From Project Gutenberg

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