pilus
Americannoun
-
pili
plural
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of pilus
Borrowed into English from Latin around 1955–60
Vocabulary lists containing pilus
Cell Biology - Middle School
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Cell Biology - High School
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Microbiology - High School
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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.
See Examples For:
"In our study of Pseudomonas, we were able to explain much more about what exactly is going on, including the force and speed of pilus detachment, and understand why and how this happens."
From Science Daily ● Apr. 15, 2024
They observed how a phage called PP7 infects P. aeruginosa by attaching to the pilus, which then retracts and pulls the phage to the cell surface.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 15, 2024
A small loop of DNA is transferred from one cell to another via the pilus.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015
During conjugation, DNA is transferred from one prokaryote to another by means of a pilus that brings the organisms into contact with one another.
From Textbooks ● Apr. 25, 2013
As each pilus gets tugged the bacterium staggers and stumbles, moving randomly across the surface.
From US News ● Oct. 8, 2010
"The bacteria use their pili to bind to the sensor in several places, which allows them to hang on particularly well," says Terfort.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 25, 2024
E. coli has many short arms, known as pili, which the bacterium uses to recognize its host's glycocalyx and cling onto it.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 25, 2024
Prof Helen Wallace is one of the world's leading authorities on the kenari, and its sister trees and nuts, the pili and galip.
From BBC ● Nov. 23, 2022
Key among these is the production of bacterial appendages called flagella and pili.
From Salon ● Sep. 21, 2022
How can the contraction of the unstriped and involuntary arrectores pili have been co-ordinated with that of various voluntary muscles for the same special purpose?
From The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals by Charles Darwin
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
