phagosome

American

[fag-uh-sohm] / ˈfæg əˌsoʊm /

noun

a vacuole within a phagocyte that contains bacteria or other ingested particles and that becomes fused with a lysosome.

Etymology

Origin of phagosome

First recorded in 1955–60; phago- + -some ³

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The phagocyte takes the organism inside itself as a phagosome, which subsequently fuses with a lysosome and its digestive enzymes, effectively killing many pathogens.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

Lysosome and invader, now packaged in a phagosome, are drawn together and fuse.

From Time Magazine Archive

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023