virus
NON-CELLULAR, SUBMICROSCOPIC INFECTIOUS AGENT THAT REPLICATES ONLY INSIDE THE LIVING CELLS OF AN ORGANISM
Virus (biological); Virus (biology); Virion; Virons; Viruses; Viri; Virions; Virius; Antibodies, viral; Viris; Assembly and budding; Virus'; Virus structure; Medical virus; Viridae; Medical Virus; Viral sex; Viral gene reassortment; Biological virus; Nucleocapsid proteins; Viral illness; Virostatic; Virsu; Virose; Biovirus; Non-enveloped virus; Virus replication cycle; Naked virus; Uncoating; Novel virus; Virus origins; Viral particle; Virus (life science); Virus genome composition; Virus genome; Draft:Viruses and their Types; Nucleocapsid protein; Genome packaging; Genogroup
['v??r?s]
¦ noun
1. a submicroscopic infective particle, typically consisting of nucleic acid coated in protein, which can multiply only within the cells of a host organism.
an infection or disease caused by such an agent.
2. (also computer virus) a piece of code surreptitiously introduced into a system in order to corrupt it or destroy data.
Origin
ME (denoting snake venom): from L., lit. 'slimy liquid, poison'.