bacteriophage

noun

1. any of a group of viruses that infect specific bacteria, usually causing their disintegration or dissolution.

noun

1. a virus that is parasitic in a bacterium and multiplies within its host, which is destroyed when the new viruses are releasedOften shortened to: phage

n.

1921, from French bactériophage (1917), from bacterio-, comb. form of bacteria, + -phage.

n.

1. A virus capable of infecting and lysing bacterial cells.phage

1. A virus that infects and destroys bacterial cells.