bacteriophage

noun

bac·​te·​ri·​o·​phage bak-ˈtir-ē-ə-ˌfāj 

also

-ˌfäzh 

plural bacteriophages

: a virus that infects bacteria : phage

Much smaller than the bacteria they attack, bacteriophages cannot grow and multiply on their own.

—C. Claiborne Ray

The genes were amplified by using PCR [=polymerase chain reaction] and inserted into … a bacteriophage of E. coli.

—Ricki Lewis

bacteriophagy

(ˌ)bak-ˌtir-ē-ˈä-fə-jē 

noun

Examples of bacteriophage in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

To tackle this, the Monash team turned to bacteriophages — viruses that naturally infect and kill bacteria. —Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 25 Sep. 2025

How the designs were generated The team targeted bacteriophage phiX174, a minimal DNA phage with approximately 5,000 bases across 11 genes. —Alex Harrington, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Sep. 2025

By adulthood, healthy individuals host a delicate and mutually beneficial equilibrium of bacteriophages and bacteria. —Kate Graham-Shaw, Scientific American, 5 Sep. 2025

This particular type of recoding has only previously been documented in viruses that infect bacteria–or bacteriophages. —Lauren Leffer, Popular Science, 27 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

International Scientific Vocabulary

First Known Use

1917, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for bacteriophage

• age
• gauge
• phage
• plage
• rage
• stage
• wage
• alienage
• assuage
• backstage
• bocage
• downstage

Kids Definition

bacteriophage

noun

bac·​te·​rio·​phage

bak-ˈtir-ē-ə-ˌfāj,

-ˌfāzh

: any of various viruses that specifically attack bacteria

Medical Definition

bacteriophage

noun

bac·​te·​ri·​o·​phage bak-ˈtir-ē-ə-ˌfāj  -ˌfäzh 

: a virus that infects bacteria : phage

Bacteriophages invade bacterial cells and burst them open before they have a chance to produce lactic acid.

—Diana Morgan and Terence Monmaney, Science

bacteriophagy

(ˌ)bak-ˌtir-ē-ˈäf-ə-jē 

noun