noun

• An organism which supports the adult or sexually reproductive form of a parasite.

  Compare with intermediate host

  ‘The worms were using hyena and large cats as definitive hosts and bovids as intermediate hosts.’

  More example sentences

  • ‘Once in the definitive host's gut, the tapeworm larvae mature into adults and shed eggs, completing the cycle.’
  • ‘The next step in the typical, three-host life cycle invariably requires a predatory act by the definitive host.’
  • ‘Cats are considered the definitive host of toxoplasmosis.’
  • ‘Another parasite under suspicion for otter deaths is Sarcocystis neurona, whose only definitive host is the opossum.’