A culture of a microorganism maintained solely for the purpose of keeping the microorganism in a viable condition by subculture, as necessary, into fresh medium. ... (05 Mar 2000) ... 
A culture maintained in a culture collection for future study or reference.
Type: Term Pronunciation: stok Definitions: 1. a culture of a microorganism maintained solely for the purpose of keeping the microorganism in a viable condition by subculture, as necessary, into fresh medium.