phage

¹ American  

[feyj] / feɪdʒ /

noun

1. bacteriophage.

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-phage ² American  

Also -phag.

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

   macrophage.

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-phage ¹ British  

combining form

1. indicating something that eats or consumes something specified

   bacteriophage

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phage ² British  

/ feɪdʒ /

noun

1. short for bacteriophage

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Usage

What does -phage mean? The combining form -phage is used like a suffix meaning “a thing that devours.” It is used in many scientific terms, especially in biology. The form -phage ultimately comes from the Greek phageîn, meaning “to eat, devour.” This Greek root also helps form the word esophagus. Discover the connection at our entry for the word. The word phage, referring to a bacteriophage, is a shortened or independent use of the combining form -phageClosely related to -phage are -phagia, -phagy, and -phagous. Their corresponding form combined to the beginning of words is phago-. Learn more about their specific applications at our Words That Use articles for the forms.

Other Word Forms

• -phagous combining form

Etymology

Origin of phage¹

By shortening, or independent use of -phage

Origin of -phage²

Noun use of Greek -phagos -phagous

Example Sentences

"In this case, the phage therapy community told us, 'That's exactly the hammer we've been waiting for.'"

From Science Daily • Jan. 21, 2026

With NEB's Golden Gate Assembly platform, scientists can assemble an entire phage genome outside the cell using synthetic DNA, incorporating all planned genetic changes during construction.

From Science Daily • Jan. 21, 2026

Using this system, the team constructed a P. aeruginosa phage from 28 synthetic DNA fragments.

From Science Daily • Jan. 21, 2026

Yale researchers recognized that these tools could unlock new possibilities in phage biology and reached out to explore more ambitious applications.

From Science Daily • Jan. 21, 2026

The only new result we were likely to pick up before Christmas was the divalent metal content of the DNA- containing phage T4.

From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson