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Definition of "retrovirus" [retrovirus]

  • Any of a group of viruses, many of which produce tumors, that contain RNA and reverse transcriptase, including the virus that causes AIDS. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "retrovirus" in a sentence
  • "* The term retrovirus was coined later by virologists."
  • "She called me up to organise the search for the putative retrovirus from a patient presenting with an early sign of the disease, lymphodenopathy."
  • "XMRV is a so-called retrovirus, which is the same type of virus as the AIDS virus."