pathogen

/ˈpæθədʒɪn/

/ˈpæθədʒɪn/

Other forms: pathogens

A pathogen is a tiny living organism, such as a bacterium or virus, that makes people sick. Washing your hands frequently helps you avoid the pathogens that can make you sick.

Pathos is the Greek word for disease and -genes means "born of." So, a pathogen is something that causes disease, like a virus like the rhinovirus, which causes the common cold. At summer picnics, people are cautious about keeping certain foods like potato salad in coolers with ice — the eggs in such dishes spoil quickly out in the heat, introducing pathogens that can make people sick.

Definitions of pathogen

1. noun

   any disease-producing agent (especially a virus or bacterium or other microorganism)
   type of:

   micro-organism, microorganism

   any living thing that is too small to be seen with the naked eye

   infectious agent, infective agent

   an agent capable of producing infection