petri dish

[pee-tree]

noun

1. a shallow, circular, glass or plastic dish with a loose-fitting cover over the top and sides, used for culturing bacteria and other microorganisms.

Petri dish

/ ˈpɛtrɪ /

noun

1. a shallow circular flat-bottomed dish, often with a fitting cover, used in laboratories, esp for producing cultures of microorganisms

petri dish

1. A shallow, circular dish with a loose cover, usually made of transparent glass or plastic and used to grow cultures of microorganisms. The petri dish is named after German bacteriologist Julius Richard Petri (1852–1921).

Word History and Origins

Origin of petri dish¹

1890–95; named after J. R. Petri (died 1921), German bacteriologist

Word History and Origins

Origin of petri dish¹

C19: named after J. R. Petri (1852–1921), German bacteriologist

Example Sentences

A pilot friend who is crossing the Atlantic from the Canary Islands in a sailboat this month called cruise ships a “floating petri dish.‘

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"How about the brain and behaviour? How can you study behaviour in a petri dish? You just can't," he says.

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School and nursery can be like a petri dish with lots of viruses circulating and they may well bring these germs home with them.

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"To hear that there's going to be the potential of some of these very preventable diseases becoming a petri dish here in our location is troublesome," she said.

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Federal officials have publicly relished big-footing Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who have repeatedly warned the city is being used as a “petri dish” for executive force.

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