Virus
A noncellular biological entity that can reproduce only within a host cell.
Viruses consist of nucleic acid covered by protein; some animal viruses are also surrounded by membrane. Inside the infected cell, the virus uses the synthetic capability of the host to produce progeny virus.
2. A kind of intracellular parasite that can replicate only inside a living cell. In its dispersal stage between host cells, a virus consists of nucleic acid that codes for a small number of genes, surrounded by a protein coat. (Less formally, according to Medawar’s definition, a virus is “a piece of bad news wrapped in a protein.”)

