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Biology vocabulary · Microbiology

Host

Meaning in biology, with examples

/hoʊst/nounCommon term

In biology, host means: An organism or cell that a parasite, virus or other organism lives in or on, and from which it usually gets food or shelter.

In Turkish: konak, konakçı

How it is used

Common phrases: host cell, host plant, host species and host range (the hosts a pathogen can infect). A pathogen infects or invades a host, and the host mounts an immune response. Some parasites need an intermediate host.

Example sentences

  1. Viruses cannot replicate outside a host cell.

  2. Snails are the intermediate host of several parasitic worms.

Common collocations

  • host cell
  • host plant
  • host range
  • intermediate host
  • infect a host
  • pathogenA microorganism or virus that causes disease in its host, such as certain bacteria, viruses, fungi or parasites.
  • virusA tiny infectious particle made of genetic material (DNA or RNA) inside a protein coat. It can only make copies of itself inside a living host cell.
  • symbiosisA close, long-term relationship between two different species that live together. It can benefit both, benefit one without affecting the other, or harm one.
  • immune systemThe network of cells, tissues and organs that protects the body from pathogens and other harmful substances, and remembers threats it has met before.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Microbiology

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