noun ·6 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   Any protozoan of the genus Cryptosporidium, intestinal parasites of humans and other vertebrates that can cause diarrhea and other symptoms in cases of low immunity.

   "Recall the outbreak of cryptosporidia gastroenteritis in Milwaukee in 1994."

Example

More examples

"Recall the outbreak of cryptosporidia gastroenteritis in Milwaukee in 1994."

Etymology

From translingual Cryptosporidium (the genus name), from Latin crypto- (“hidden”) + sporidium (“spore”). From 20th century.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.