definitive host

noun

The host in which a parasite reproduces sexually.

“Cats are the definitive host of Toxoplasma gondii.”

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Meanings

noundefinitive host (plural definitive hosts)

plural definitive hosts

  1. biologyThe host in which a parasite reproduces sexually.

    Cats are the definitive host of Toxoplasma gondii.

    1 more example

    They remain within the intermediate host until it is eaten by the definitive host.

    2002, Jack Chernin, Parasitology, →ISBN, page 14

Translations

Finnish pääisäntä
  • pääisäntähost in which parasite reproduces
Cite this entry
APA

definitive host. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/definitive%20host

MLA

“definitive host.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/definitive%20host. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “definitive host,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/definitive%20host.

Source: definitive host on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.