pathogen

[ path-uh-juhn, ‑-jen ]

noun

1. any disease-producing agent, especially a virus, bacterium, or other microorganism.

pathogen

/ ˈpæθəˌdʒiːn; ˈpæθəˌdʒɛn /

noun

1. any agent that can cause disease

pathogen

/ păth′ə-jən /

1. An agent that causes infection or disease, especially a microorganism, such as a bacterium or protozoan, or a virus.
2. See Note at germ

pathogen

1. A disease-causing agent. Microorganisms , viruses , and toxins are examples of pathogens.

Other Words From

• anti·patho·gen noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of pathogen¹

First recorded in 1940–45; patho- + -gen

Example Sentences

The Yakimovich group "Machine Learning for Infection and Disease" aims to understand the complex network of molecular interactions that is active after the body has been infected with a pathogen.

From Science Daily

Unlike commercial antibiotics, phages evolve alongside their bacterial hosts, dodging and parrying the bacterial response so that for every pathogen, there’s likely a bacteriophage, somewhere, that eats it.

From Salon

The virus was also detected in pigs for the first time recently, which concerns experts because this gives the pathogen another mammalian reservoir that could raise the risk of a pandemic like COVID-19.

From Salon

She has since suggested that the United States covertly worked with Ukraine on dangerous biological pathogens and was culpable for the bombing of the Nord Stream gas pipeline from Russia to Germany in September 2022.

From New York Times

The research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, explains how the pathogen tricks the gut environment to escape the body's natural defenses.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• ailment
• disease
• germ
• illness
• infection
• microbe
• microorganism
• sickness