bacteria

noun

(US) A type, species, or strain of bacterium.

(derogatory, slang) Lowlife, slob (could be treated as plural or singular).

(dated, medicine) An oval bacterium, as distinguished from a spherical coccus or rod-shaped bacillus.

(US, proscribed) Alternative form of bacterium. [(microbiology) A single-celled organism with cell walls but no nucleus or organelles.]

Roots

bakterionbacteria- · Greek · little rod

Synonyms for bacteria

bacteriumn spirillumn microben bacillusn staphylococcusn vibrion streptococcusn spirocheten rickettsian coccusn

Synonyms & related words for bacteria

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of bacteria — including bacterium, spirillum, microbe, bacillus, staphylococcus, vibrio. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to bacteria

Explore words related to bacteria — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include bacteroid, bacterial, microorganisms, diplococcus, bacterially, nitrobacteria, germs, azotobacter. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for bacteria

Common synonyms for bacteria include bacterium, spirillum, microbe, bacillus, staphylococcus, vibrio, streptococcus, spirochete — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does bacteria come from?

The word bacteria breaks down into one root of Greek origin: the root bacteria-, from Greek bakterion (“little rod”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.