vibrio

noun

vib·​rio ˈvi-brē-ˌō 

plural vibrios

: any of a genus (Vibrio) of short rigid motile bacteria that are straight or curved rods and include pathogens causing especially gastrointestinal diseases (such as cholera)

vibrionic

ˌvi-brē-ˈä-nik 

adjective

Examples of vibrio in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

While diarrhea and vomiting are much more common symptoms of vibrio infections, contracting vibrio vulnificus can require intensive care or amputation and about 20% of people die. —Athena Sobhan, Peoplemag, 15 July 2024

About 80,000 people get vibrio infections each year. —Amaris Encinas, USA TODAY, 8 Sep. 2023

In a typical year, the CDC reports about 80,000 people are infected and 100 die from some form of vibrio. —Leada Gore | [e-mail], al, 5 Sep. 2023

Some vibrio vulnificus can lead to necrotizing fasciitis, a severe infection that causes the flesh around open wounds to die, leading many to call the bacteria 'flesh-eating. —Gabrielle M. Etzel, Washington Examiner, 23 Aug. 2023

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, Vibrion-, Vibrio, from Latin vibrare to wave

First Known Use

circa 1864, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

vibrio

noun

vib·​rio ˈvib-rē-ō 

1

capitalized : a genus of short rigid motile bacteria of the family Vibrionaceae that are straight or curved rods, have one or sometimes two or three polar flagella enclosed in a sheath, and include various saprophytes and a few pathogens (as V. cholerae, the cause of cholera in humans)

2

: any bacterium of the genus Vibrio

broadly : a curved rod-shaped bacterium