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petri dish

noun pe·tri dish \ ˈpē-trē- \
Updated on: 18 May 2018
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Definition of petri dish

1 : a small shallow dish of thin glass or plastic with a loose cover used especially for cultures in bacteriology
2 : something (such as a place or situation) that fosters development or innovation
  • the college was a petri dish for radical views

Recent Examples of petri dish from the Web

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'petri dish.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of petri dish

Julius R. Petri †1921 German bacteriologist

Other Microbiology Terms

pathogen, salmonella, tetanus

Medical Dictionary

petri dish

noun pe·tri dish \ ˈpē-trē- \

medical Definition of petri dish

: a small shallow dish of thin glass or plastic with a loose cover used especially for cultures in bacteriology

Biographical Note for petri dish

  • Petri play \ˈpā-trē\, Julius Richard (1852–1921), German bacteriologist. Petri was an assistant to the eminent bacteriologist Robert Koch. In 1887 Petri introduced a vessel for growing bacteria that consists of two round rimmed plates, one serving as a cover for the other.

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