bacterium
Use Bacterium in a sentence
noun
singular of bacteria.
Origin:
1840–50; < Neo-Latin < Greek baktḗrion, diminutive of baktēría staff; akin to báktron stick, Latin baculum, bacillum
1840–50; < Neo-Latin < Greek baktḗrion, diminutive of baktēría staff; akin to báktron stick, Latin baculum, bacillum
Dictionary.com Unabridged
plural noun, singular bac·te·ri·um [bak-teer-ee-uh
m] .
[bak-teer-ee-uhm] . ubiquitous one-celled organisms, spherical, spiral, or rod-shaped and appearing singly or in chains, comprising the Schizomycota, a phylum of the kingdom Monera (in some classification systems the plant class Schizomycetes), various species of which are involved in fermentation, putrefaction, infectious diseases, or nitrogen fixation.
Related forms
bac·te·ri·al, adjective
bac·te·ri·al·ly, adverb
non·bac·te·ri·al, adjective
non·bac·te·ri·al·ly, adverb
un·bac·te·ri·al, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To bacterium
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Bacterium
is always a great word to know.
So is gobo. Does it mean:
| an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance. |
| a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
bacteria (bækˈtɪərɪə) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —pl n , sing -rium | |
| See also prokaryote 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 | |
| [C19: plural of New Latin bacterium, from Greek baktērion, literally: a little stick, from baktron rod, staff] | |
| bac'terial | |
| —adj | |
| bac'terially | |
| —adv | |
| bacterium (bækˈtɪərɪəm) | |
| —n | |
| the singular of bacteria | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
bacteria
1847, from Mod.L. pl. of bacterium, from Gk. bakterion "small staff," dim. of baktron "stick, rod," from PIE *bak- "staff used for support." So called because the first ones observed were rod-shaped. Introduced as a scientific word 1838 by Ger. naturalist Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg (1795-1876). Related:
Bacterial (1871).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
bacterium bac·te·ri·um (bāk-tēr'ē-əm)
n. pl. bac·te·ri·a (-tēr'ē-ə)
Any of the unicellular, prokaryotic microorganisms of the class Schizomycetes, which vary in terms of morphology, oxygen and nutritional requirements, and motility, and may be free-living, saprophytic, or pathogenic, the latter causing disease in plants or animals.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
| bacteria (bāk-tîr'ē-ə) Pronunciation Key
Plural of bacterium. |
| bacterium (bāk-tîr'ē-əm) Pronunciation Key
Plural bacteria Any of a large group of one-celled organisms that lack a cell nucleus, reproduce by fission or by forming spores, and in some cases cause disease. They are the most abundant lifeforms on Earth, and are found in all living things and in all of the Earth's environments. Bacteria usually live off other organisms. Bacteria make up most of the kingdom of prokaryotes (Monera or Prokaryota), with one group (the archaea or archaebacteria) often classified as a separate kingdom. See also archaeon, prokaryote. bacterial adjective Our Living Language : It is important to remember that bacteria is the plural of bacterium, and that saying a bacteria is incorrect. It is correct to say The soil sample contains millions of bacteria, and Tetanus is caused by a bacterium. |
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary
bacteria definition
sing. bacterium
Microorganisms made up of a single cell that has no distinct nucleus. Bacteria reproduce by fission or by forming spores.
Note: Some bacteria are beneficial to humans (for example, those that live in the stomach and aid digestion), and some are harmful (for example, those that cause disease).
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Example sentences
Scientists have found a photosynthetic bacterium that doesn't live off the light of the sun.
They also engineer two genes--one from a type of yeast, one from a cheese-making bacterium--into the microbe.
Tucker:Anthrax is a bacterium, but when it's exposed to air, it forms a spore resembling a seed.
In this context patenting an artificial genome for a bacterium seems reasonable.
Images for bacterium
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