noun
coli
KOH-leye
noun
1
Short for Escherichia coli (E. coli), a bacterium normally living in the gut, some strains of which cause food poisoning.
"The lab test came back positive for coli contamination."
How to Use Coli
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishThe species name people usually mean is E. coli, the gut bacterium linked to food poisoning outbreaks.
Easily confused with
Word Forms
coli plural
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The lab test came back positive for _____ contamination.
Etymology
A shortened scientific name, from Latin coli, meaning "of the colon" — because the bacterium lives in the large intestine.