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Biology vocabulary · Microbiology

Virus

Meaning in biology, with examples

/ˈvaɪrəs/nounCore term

In biology, virus means: A 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.

In Turkish: virüs

How it is used

Viruses are not made of cells and are usually not counted as living organisms. Scientists say a virus infects a cell, replicates and spreads. Viruses that infect bacteria are called bacteriophages. Antibiotics do not work against viruses.

Example sentences

  1. The virus uses the host cell's ribosomes to make its own proteins.

  2. Flu vaccines are updated every year because influenza viruses keep changing.

Common collocations

  • viral infection
  • virus particle
  • host cell
  • viral load
  • RNA virus
  • hostAn organism or cell that a parasite, virus or other organism lives in or on, and from which it usually gets food or shelter.
  • pathogenA microorganism or virus that causes disease in its host, such as certain bacteria, viruses, fungi or parasites.
  • bacteriaSingle-celled microorganisms without a nucleus that live almost everywhere, from soil and water to the human gut. Most are harmless or useful; some cause disease.
  • microorganismA living thing too small to see without a microscope, such as a bacterium, a yeast or a single-celled alga. Viruses are often studied alongside them.
  • antibodyA Y-shaped protein made by B cells of the immune system that recognizes and binds to a specific antigen, such as part of a virus, and marks it for destruction.

This word in other fields

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

More terms: Microbiology

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