parasitize

American  

[par-uh-si-tahyz, -sahy-] / ˈpær ə sɪˌtaɪz, -saɪ- /

especially British, parasitise

verb (used with object)

parasitized, parasitizing

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

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parasitize British  

/ -saɪ-, ˈpærəsɪˌtaɪz /

verb

1. to infest or infect with parasites

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

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Other Word Forms

• unparasitized adjective

Etymology

Origin of parasitize

First recorded in 1885–90; parasite + -ize

Example Sentences

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

From Science Daily • Nov. 8, 2023

In Oregon, officials will likely try to slow the borer’s spread and reduce its population by removing infested trees, selectively using insecticides, and releasing tiny wasps that parasitize and kill the beetles’ larvae.

From Science Magazine • Jul. 20, 2022

As science journalist Rachel Nuwer writes, as many as 40 to 50 percent of all animal species are parasites, and almost every other species has at least one parasite that has evolved to parasitize it.

From Scientific American • Apr. 19, 2022

The birds sometimes raise their eggs in cooperative groups and sometimes parasitize other species’ nests.

From Nature • Feb. 24, 2019

Two roundworms were found to parasitize the guts of the salamanders; the parasitism looks to be benign.

From Natural History of the Salamander, Aneides hardii by Johnston, Richard F.