sporozoite

noun

spo·​ro·​zo·​ite ˌspȯr-ə-ˈzō-ˌīt How to pronounce sporozoite (audio)
: a usually motile infective form of some sporozoans that is a product of sporogony and initiates an asexual cycle in the new host

Examples of sporozoite in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
At that point, the parasites are squiggly critters called sporozoites. Andrew Joseph, STAT, 1 Aug. 2024 The bite of an infected mosquito sends immature parasites called sporozoites into the bloodstream. Lauran Neergaard, Fortune, 17 Jan. 2020 Mosquirix, developed in the 1980s by a team in Belgium at SmithKline-RIT, now part of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), stimulates an immune response against a protein that occurs only on the sporozoites' surface. Jop De Vrieze, Science | AAAS, 26 Nov. 2019

Word History

Etymology

New Latin Sporozoa + International Scientific Vocabulary -ite

First Known Use

1888, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of sporozoite was in 1888

Dictionary Entries Near sporozoite

Cite this Entry

“Sporozoite.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sporozoite. Accessed 23 Dec. 2024.

Medical Definition

sporozoite

noun
spo·​ro·​zo·​ite -ˈzō-ˌīt How to pronounce sporozoite (audio)
: a usually motile infective form of some sporozoans (as the malaria parasite) that is a product of sporogony and initiates an asexual cycle in the new host

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