phage

[ feyj ]

/ feɪdʒ /

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noun

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of phage

By shortening, or independent use of -phage

Words nearby phage

phaeic, Phaënna, Phaestus, Phaëthon, phaeton, phage, phagedaena, phagedena, -phagia, phago-, phagocyte

Other definitions for phage (2 of 2)

-phage

a combining form meaning “a thing that devours,” used in the formation of compound words, especially the names of phagocytes: macrophage.

Also -phag.

Compare phago-, -phagous, -phagy.

Origin of -phage

Noun use of Greek -phagos-phagous

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use phage in a sentence

Histones also might protect archaea against invaders, such as phages or transposable elements, which would find it harder to integrate into the genome when it’s wrapped around the proteins.
DNA’s Histone Spools Hint at How Complex Cells Evolved|Viviane Callier|May 10, 2021|Quanta Magazine
So Zhao and colleagues in China chose a phage called SH-Ab 15497 that infects Acinetobacter bacteria, and confirmed that its DNA alphabet also has Z in place of A, his team reports.
Some viruses thwart bacterial defenses with a unique genetic alphabet|Tina Hesman Saey|May 5, 2021|Science News
Periodically, Marlière searched genetic databases for other phages that have PurZ and might contain the elusive picky polymerase.
Some viruses thwart bacterial defenses with a unique genetic alphabet|Tina Hesman Saey|May 5, 2021|Science News
Why phages would bother with the unconventional DNA was still unknown.
Some viruses thwart bacterial defenses with a unique genetic alphabet|Tina Hesman Saey|May 5, 2021|Science News

By 2050, 10 million people are projected to die each year from antibiotic-resistant infections, and phages could be our last hope.
How to listen to all of Vox’s Earth Month podcasts|Lauren Katz|April 16, 2021|Vox

British Dictionary definitions for phage (1 of 2)

phage

/ (feɪdʒ) /

noun

short for bacteriophage

British Dictionary definitions for phage (2 of 2)

-phage

n combining form

indicating something that eats or consumes something specifiedbacteriophage

Derived forms of -phage

-phagous, adj combining form

Word Origin for -phage

from Greek -phagos; see phago-

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