parasitize

especially British, par·a·si·tise

[par-uh-si-tahyz, -sahy-]

verb (used with object)

parasitized, parasitizing 

1. to live on (a host) as a parasite.

parasitize

/ -saɪ-, ˈpærəsɪˌtaɪz /

verb

1. to infest or infect with parasites

2. to live on (another organism) as a parasite

Other Word Forms

• unparasitized adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of parasitize¹

First recorded in 1885–90; parasite + -ize

Example Sentences

"They parasitize the shells of bivalves like oysters, not the flesh of the animals themselves," said Nanglu.

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To understand orca parasites, she had been trying to study organisms that parasitize salmon, a favorite orca prey that might pass the parasites along to the whales.

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It is thought that wasps that parasitize other insects, such as the Darwin wasp, could be more diverse than beetles.

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Prior research into the group has suggested that they parasitize the eggs of stick insects, also known as walking sticks.

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Some kinds benefit the soil, but others parasitize crops, inflicting more than $100 billion in losses worldwide each year.

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