E. coli
noun
plural E. coli
: an enterobacterium (Escherichia coli) that is used in public health as an indicator of fecal pollution (as of water or food) and in medicine and genetics as a research organism and that occurs in various strains that may live as harmless inhabitants of the human lower intestine or may produce a toxin causing intestinal illness see enterobacterium illustration
Examples of E. coli in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Some of these include E. coli, Salmonella, and Listeria, Keresztes-James said.
—
Sarah Garone, Health, 6 Dec. 2024
Raw milk is not pasteurized and can can carry disease-causing pathogens such as listeria, campylobacter, salmonella, E. coli and bird flu virus.
—Brenda Goodman, CNN, 6 Dec. 2024
Feeders can harbor Salmonella and E. coli and have been known to give house finches eye infections.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 5 Dec. 2024
McAfee’s milk is highly regulated by the state of California, which performs frequent testing for food-illness pests such as campylobacter, cryptosporidium, E. coli, listeria, brucella and salmonella and other bacterial illnesses in his milk.
—Susanne Rust, Los Angeles Times, 5 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for E. coli 
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.
Sarah Garone, Health, 6 Dec. 2024
Raw milk is not pasteurized and can can carry disease-causing pathogens such as listeria, campylobacter, salmonella, E. coli and bird flu virus.
—Brenda Goodman, CNN, 6 Dec. 2024
Feeders can harbor Salmonella and E. coli and have been known to give house finches eye infections.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 5 Dec. 2024
McAfee’s milk is highly regulated by the state of California, which performs frequent testing for food-illness pests such as campylobacter, cryptosporidium, E. coli, listeria, brucella and salmonella and other bacterial illnesses in his milk.
—Susanne Rust, Los Angeles Times, 5 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for E. coli
Cite this Entry
“E. coli.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/E.%20coli. Accessed 20 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
E. coli
noun
plural E. coli
: a bacterium in the shape of a short rod that may cause intestinal illness
Etymology
short for Escherichia coli, the taxonomic name in biology
Medical Definition
E. coli
nounˌē-ˈkō-ˌlī
plural E. coli also E. colis
: a straight rod-shaped gram-negative bacterium (Escherichia coli of the family Enterobacteriaceae) that is used in public health as an indicator of fecal pollution (as of water or food) and in medicine and genetics as a research organism and that occurs in various strains that may live as harmless inhabitants of the human lower intestine or may produce a toxin causing intestinal illness marked especially by diarrhea
one million acid-resistant E. coli per gram of feces—John Schwartz
John Schwartzthis E. coli can survive … longer than all the other E. colis—Ed Geldreich
Ed GeldreichLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share