Bacteriostasis

/ˌbæktɪərioʊˈsteɪsɪs/ noun

The stopping or slowing of bacterial growth and reproduction without actually killing the bacteria.

From Greek 'bakterion' (rod-shaped creature) + 'stasis' (stopping or standing still). The term emerged in microbiology in the late 1800s as scientists distinguished between killing bacteria and merely halting their growth.

📖 Full word page — etymology, 47 translations, audio 🔑 Get Free API Key — 50 lookups/day 📚 Read the Docs — integrate Word Orb