Lysozyme

//ˈlaɪsəzaɪm// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A bacteriolytic (or antibiotic) enzyme found in many animal secretions, and in egg white.

    "[Alexander Fleming] had in 1923 discovered lysozyme, an antimicrobial enzyme found in saliva, mucus and tears as part of the body’s first line of defence against invading pathogens."

  2. 2
    an enzyme found in saliva and sweat and tears that destroys the cell walls of certain bacteria wordnet

Example

More examples

"[Alexander Fleming] had in 1923 discovered lysozyme, an antimicrobial enzyme found in saliva, mucus and tears as part of the body’s first line of defence against invading pathogens."

Etymology

From lyso- + enzyme.

Related phrases

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