petri dish

[ pee-tree ]

noun

1. a shallow, circular, glass or plastic dish with a loose-fitting cover over the top and sides, used for culturing bacteria and other microorganisms.

Petri dish

/ ˈpɛtrɪ /

noun

1. a shallow circular flat-bottomed dish, often with a fitting cover, used in laboratories, esp for producing cultures of microorganisms

petri dish

/ pē′trē /

1. A shallow, circular dish with a loose cover, usually made of transparent glass or plastic and used to grow cultures of microorganisms. The petri dish is named after German bacteriologist Julius Richard Petri (1852–1921).

Word History and Origins

Origin of petri dish¹

1890–95; named after J. R. Petri (died 1921), German bacteriologist

Word History and Origins

Origin of petri dish¹

C19: named after J. R. Petri (1852–1921), German bacteriologist

Example Sentences

Apart from the fact that Marx described the ship as “a floating petri dish,” the duo had a blast.

From Los Angeles Times

As the Salton Sea has become a fertilized petri dish, the prevailing winds have pushed aerosolized bacteria south to communities in the Imperial Valley where people have complained of respiratory issues.

From Los Angeles Times

At that time, experiments were conducted on tumour cells in a petri dish.

From Science Daily

To determine viral activity, they flushed a wood sample's surface with a liquid solution at different time points and then placed that solution in a petri dish that contained cultured cells.

From Science Daily

Then, they tested its growth in a petri dish.

From Science Daily