symbiont

American  

[sim-bee-ont, -bahy-] / ˈsɪm biˌɒnt, -baɪ- /

Also symbiote

noun

Biology.

1. an organism living in a state of symbiosis.

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symbiont British  

/ ˈsɪmbɪˌɒnt /

noun

1. an organism living in a state of symbiosis

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symbiont Scientific  

/ sĭm′bē-ŏnt′,-bī- /

1. An organism in a symbiotic relationship. In cases in which a distinction is made between two interacting organisms, the symbiont is the smaller of the two and is always a beneficiary in the relationship, while the larger organism is the host and may or may not derive a benefit.

2. See also host parasite

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Other Word Forms

• symbiontic adjective
• symbiontically adverb

Etymology

Origin of symbiont

1885–90; < Greek symbiont- (stem of symbiṓn ), present participle of symbioûn “to live together”; see symbiosis, onto-

Example Sentences

Once they applied it to the original seawater samples collected from the North Atlantic, their suspicions about it being a symbiont were quickly confirmed.

From Science Daily • May 9, 2024

"There is a lot of variation within both the animal and symbiont genera. We need to understand the variation."

From Science Daily • Nov. 30, 2023

Bacteria, for instance, may make up as much as 95 percent of the serotonin in our bloodstreams, meaning you have a diverse symbiont community to thank for your pleasant mood.

From Slate • Jan. 23, 2020

This is “a normal symbiont that can have dramatic effects,” Franklin says, and its presence or absence could alter studies of inflammatory response.

From Science Magazine • Aug. 16, 2016

Its previous hosts had been color blind, and the symbiont wallowed in an orgy of bright sensation.

From Insidekick by Bone, Jesse F. (Jesse Franklin)