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Definition of 'bacteria'

Word Frequency

bacteria

(bæktɪəriə )
plural noun
Bacteria are very small organisms. Some bacteria can cause disease.
Chlorine is added to kill bacteria.
More Synonyms of bacteria
COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers

Video: pronunciation of 'bacteria'

Word Frequency

bacteria in British

(bækˈtɪərɪə )
plural noun singular -rium (-rɪəm)
a very large group of microorganisms comprising one of the three domains of living organisms. They are prokaryotic, unicellular, and either free-living in soil or water or parasites of plants or animals
See also prokaryote
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Derived forms
bacterial (bacˈterial)
  adjective
bacterially (bacˈterially)
  adverb
Word origin of 'bacteria'
C19: plural of New Latin bacterium, from Greek baktērion, literally: a little stick, from baktron rod, staff
Word Frequency

bacteria in American

(bækˈtɪriə ; baktirˈēə)
plural nounWord forms: singular bacˈterium (bækˈtɪriəm ; baktirˈēəm) or bacˈteria
any of a division (Bacteria) of monerans, microorganisms which are typically one-celled, have no chlorophyll, multiply by simple division, and can be seen only with a microscope: they occur in three main forms, spherical (cocci), rod-shaped (bacilli), and spiral (spirilla): some bacteria cause diseases such as pneumonia and anthrax, and others are necessary for fermentation, nitrogen fixation, etc.
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Derived forms
bacterial (bacˈterial)
  adjective
bacterially (bacˈterially)
  adverb
Word origin of 'bacteria'
ModL, pl. of bacterium < Gr baktērion, dim. of baktron, a staff: see bacillus

Example sentences containing 'bacteria'

These examples have been automatically selected and may contain sensitive content. Read more…
His eyes glowed bright purple with the light of luminescent bacteria colonies implanted in his irises. Zindell, David THE BROKEN GOD
Rhodes thought of Van Vliet's new theory, the floating soup of amino acids out of which wondrously virulent bacteria would be generated.

Word Lists

Biology terms

Trends of 'bacteria'

In Common Usage. bacteria is one of the 10000 most commonly used words in the Collins dictionary

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Translations for 'bacteria'

British English: bacteria /bækˈtɪərɪə/ NOUN
Bacteria are very small organisms which can cause disease.
Chlorine is added to the water to kill bacteria.
  • American English: bacteria
  • Arabic: بَكْتِيريا
  • Brazilian Portuguese: bactéria
  • Chinese: 细菌
  • Croatian: bakterije
  • Czech: bakterie
  • Danish: bakterie
  • Dutch: bacteriën
  • European Spanish: bacterias
  • Finnish: bakteerit
  • French: bactérie
  • German: Bakterien
  • Greek: βακτήρια
  • Italian: batteri
  • Japanese: バクテリア
  • Korean: 박테리아
  • Norwegian: bakterier
  • Polish: bakteria
  • European Portuguese: bactéria
  • Romanian: bacterii
  • Russian: бактерия
  • Spanish: bacteria
  • Swedish: bakterie
  • Thai: เชื้อแบคทีเรีย
  • Turkish: bakteri
  • Ukrainian: бактерія
  • Vietnamese: vi khuẩn

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Nearby words of 'bacteria'

  • bacteraemia
  • bacteraemic
  • bacteremia
  • bacteria
  • bacteria bed
  • bacterial
  • bacterial ghost

  • All ENGLISH words that begin with 'B'

Related Terms of 'bacteria'

  • bacterium
  • bacteria bed
  • nitric bacteria
  • coliform bacteria
  • nitrous bacteria

  • View more related words

Source

Definition of bacteria from the Collins English Dictionary

Interrogative pronouns

The interrogative pronouns who, whom, and whose are used only for reference to people. The interrogative pronouns which and what are used for reference to things.   subject object possessive ...
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Scrabble score for 'bacteria': 12
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