intermediate host


nounBiology.
  1. the host in which a parasite undergoes development but does not reach sexual maturity.

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Origin of intermediate host

1
First recorded in 1875–80

Words Nearby intermediate host

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use intermediate host in a sentence

  • It is thought that these are transmitted from rat to rat by the common rat-louse which serves as an intermediate host.

    Insects and Diseases | Rennie W. Doane
  • In other cases, it is the asexual stage of the parasite which is undergone, and the arthropod then acts as the intermediate host.

    Handbook of Medical Entomology | William Albert Riley
  • The first mentioned genus is said to be the intermediate host of Hmoproteus columb.

    Handbook of Medical Entomology | William Albert Riley
  • They all pass a larval stage in the body of an intermediate host.

    A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell Todd
  • These are necessary for invading the flesh of some intermediate host.

    Parasites | T. Spencer Cobbold

British Dictionary definitions for intermediate host

intermediate host

noun
  1. an animal that acts as host to a parasite that has not yet become sexually mature

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for intermediate host

intermediate host

[ ĭn′tər-mēdē-ĭt ]


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