Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The material used in an inoculation.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Microbiology) The preparation of microorganisms which is inoculated{5} into a growth medium.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The active material used in an inoculation; an inoculant

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a substance (a virus or toxin or immune serum) that is introduced into the body to produce or increase immunity to a particular disease

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[New Latin, from Latin inoculāre, to graft a scion; see inoculate.]

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Examples

  • Plants currently restricted to south-facing slopes and warm springs (to some extent analogues of future warmer habitats and hot spots of biodiversity) north of their main distribution areas are likely to provide an "inoculum" for rapid colonization of surrounding habitats when climate becomes warmer, although they themselves are likely to be displaced from their current niches by less diverse shrub – thicket communities.

    Recent and projected changes in arctic species distributions and potential ranges 2009

  • The researchers took an inoculum from the hypersaline, alkaline Mono lake and grew it in serial dilutions so that the medium contained progressively increasing amounts of arsenic (As) substituting for phosphorus (P).

    Athena Andreadis, Ph.D.: Arsenic and Odd Lace Ph.D. Athena Andreadis 2010

  • The researchers took an inoculum from the hypersaline, alkaline Mono lake and grew it in serial dilutions so that the medium contained progressively increasing amounts of arsenic (As) substituting for phosphorus (P).

    Athena Andreadis, Ph.D.: Arsenic and Odd Lace Ph.D. Athena Andreadis 2010

  • The researchers took an inoculum from the hypersaline, alkaline Mono lake and grew it in serial dilutions so that the medium contained progressively increasing amounts of arsenic (As) substituting for phosphorus (P).

    Athena Andreadis, Ph.D.: Arsenic and Odd Lace Ph.D. Athena Andreadis 2010

  • Tighten the jar covers and shake well to disperse the inoculum throughout the broth.

    Quartermasters of Terror Keefe, Patrick Radden 2005

  • Replanting the same species in the same soil year round will serve to increase inoculum for that crop.

    6: Soil health and plant nutrition 1996

  • Newly introduced trees require inoculation; inoculum may be gotten from the soil of black locust stands, or from NFTA.

    Chapter 10 1996

  • The seed of nitrogen fixing trees should be treated with Rhizobium inoculum after scarification and prior to sowing.

    Chapter 4 1996

  • After a successful crop, soil will always retain some inoculum until the next season.

    6: Soil health and plant nutrition 1996

  • Viability of inoculum is even more difficult to monitor and maintain which is why we leave this enterprise to those set up to do the job well.

    6: Soil health and plant nutrition 1996

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