bacteriophage
noun/bækˈtɪəɹ.ɪəʊˌfeɪd͡ʒ/
Etymology Borrowed from French bactériophage, coined by microbiologist Félix d'Hérelle, from bacterio- (“bacteria”) + -phage (“eater”).
1
Biology, Microbiology, Natural sciences, Virology A virus that specifically infects bacteria.
- Another possibility is to enlist a bacteriophage, a kind of virus, to hunt down and kill harmful bacteria for us.2019, Bill Bryson, The Body: A Guide for Occupants, Black Swan (2020), page 54:
- Synonyms
- phage
- Derived terms
- antibacteriophage, bacteriophagic, bacteriophagous, bacteriophagy, corynebacteriophage, cyanobacteriophage, enterobacteriophage, mycobacteriophage
- Related terms
- virophage