Definition of "retrovirus"

retrovirus

noun
plural retroviruses
1. (virology) Any of a group of viruses which insert a copy of their RNA genome into the DNA of a host cell, thus changing the genome of that cell.
  Quotations
  Montagnier soon deduced that this was an RNA virus that could convert its genes into DNA and lodge into the human genome—a retrovirus.
  2010, Siddhartha Mukherjee, The Emperor of All Maladies, Fourth Estate (2011), page 318
2. (computer security) A computer virus that seeks to attack antivirus programs in an attempt to avoid detection.