plural E. coli
Definition of E. coli
: an enterobacterium (Escherichia coli) that is used in public health as an indicator of fecal pollution (as of water or food) and in medicine and genetics as a research organism and that occurs in various strains that may live as harmless inhabitants of the human lower intestine or may produce a toxin causing intestinal illness — see enterobacterium illustration
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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Time Traveler for E. coli
The first known use of E. coli was in 1925
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