parasite
/ˈpæɹəˌsaɪt/
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.51 in modern English
Meaning
noun
An organism that lives on or in another organism of a different species, deriving benefit from living on or in that other organism, while not contributing towards that other organism sufficiently to cover the cost to that other organism.
noun
An organism that lives on or in another organism of a different species, deriving benefit from living on or in that other organism, while not contributing towards that other organism sufficiently to cover the cost to that other organism.
Informal
noun
A person who lives on other people's efforts or expense and gives little or nothing back.
Derogatory
noun
A retainer or companion of an ancient Celtic warrior, who praised him in song or poetry at gatherings; a bard.
noun
A component of a composite aircraft which is carried aloft and air-launched by a larger carrier aircraft or mother ship to support the primary mission of the carrier; a parasite aircraft.
noun
An isolated (FSDU) (freestanding display unit )
Example Sentences
- "Lice, fleas, ticks, and mites are widely spread parasites."
- "...and the mistletoe crept round many of the oaks—that pleasant parasite, whose associations belong rather to the hearth and lighted hall than to its native branches."
- "It is likely that the long evolutionary trajectory of Mycoplasma went from a reductive autotroph to oxidative heterotroph to a cell-wall–defective degenerate parasite. This evolutionary trajectory assumes the simplicity to complexity route of biogenesis, a point of view that is not universally accepted."
- "Yiannas said there has been widespread public confusion about cyclosporiasis, an intestinal illness caused by the microscopic parasite Cyclospora cayetanensis, also known as cyclospora, that can cause explosive diarrhea."
- "He lacks, however, even the basic Dr. Kildare lingo about medical issues. For instance, he regularly misidentifies poppers as amyl nitrate, instead of amyl nitrite — two forms of heart medicine with different affects ^([sic]). Salmonella, a bacteria, is not usually classified as a parasite. And he mistakenly writes, "lenti means slow" in the lentiviruses. ("Lenti" means lens-shaped, biologists classify by structure, not by behavior.)"
- "Select a disease class Virus: Fastest evolution, Most affected by environment, Bonus to infectivity Bacteria: Medium evolution, Normally affected by environment, Bonus to drug resistance Parasite: Slowest evolution, Least affected by environment, Low visibility"
Etymology
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈpæɹəˌsaɪt/
- British English: /ˈpæɹəˌsaɪt/