To save this word, you'll need to log in.
bor·re·lia | \ bə-ˈrel-ē-ə 
, -ˈrē-lē- \
, -ˈrē-lē- \Medical Definition of borrelia
1 capitalized : a genus of small flexible spirochetes of the family Spirochaetaceae that are parasites of humans and warm-blooded animals and include the causative agents of septicemia in chickens (B. recurrentis), relapsing fever in Africa (B. duttoni), and Lyme disease in the United States (B. burgdorferi)
2 : a spirochete of the genus Borrelia
Comments on borrelia
What made you want to look up borrelia? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
Great Scrabble Words—A Quiz
- Which of the following Q-without-U words means the number five in cards or dice?
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridgedWords at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games
- Great Scrabble Words—A Quiz
Words to improve your Scrabble game
Take the quiz - Semantic Drift Quiz
A challenging quiz of changing words.
Take the quiz - Spell It
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
Take the quiz - Add Diction
Build a chain of words by adding one letter at a time.
Play the game
Share borrelia