Advertisement

Advertisement

View synonyms for bacterium

bacterium

[ bak-teer-ee-uhm ]

noun

  1. singular of bacteria.


bacterium

/ bækˈtɪərɪəm /

noun

  1. the singular of bacteria


bacterium

/ băk-tîrē-əm /

, Plural bacteria

  1. 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) sometimes classified as a separate kingdom.
  2. See also archaeon


Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of bacterium1

1840–50; < New Latin < Greek baktḗrion, diminutive of baktēría staff; akin to báktron stick, Latin baculum, bacillum

Discover More

Usage

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.

Discover More

Example Sentences

At first, scientists suspected a virus or bacterium might be making sea stars sick.

Scientists suspected that a virus or bacterium might be making sea stars sick.

Among those samples, DNA from Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes plague, was found in two ancient Siberians, the researchers report January 6 in Science Advances.

The mechanism the Hsal uses to protect itself from radiation is similar to Deinococcus radiodurans, a bacterium known for its radiation resistance.

Perhaps the best-known example occurs when the bacterium Clostridium difficile invades the gut, causing painful and sometimes deadly colitis.

No, not Ebola, but rather infection with the dreaded bacterium, Yersinia pestis.

Caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, the illness is transmitted by the bite of an infected tick.

One type of bacterium is likely very different from its neighbors, and may have equally different effects on the body.

Not only did the insertion work, the extra base pair was kept by offspring of the original bacterium.

Pertussis, or “whooping cough,” is caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis.

It is a plantigrade circumflex vertebrate bacterium that hasnt any wings and is uncertain.

Plantigrade circumflex vertebrate bacterium that hasnt any wings and is uncertain.

When we have succeeded in isolating a certain kind of bacterium in a given dish, we are said to have a pure culture.

But probably each colony arose from a single bacterium which got into the dish when it was exposed to the air.

At the same time Prof. Bayley Balfour had examined it and concluded that it was a mixture of a yeast and a bacterium.

Advertisement

Word of the Day

tortuous

[tawr-choo-uhs ]

Meaning and examples

Start each day with the Word of the Day in your inbox!

By clicking "Sign Up", you are accepting Dictionary.com Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policies.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


bacteriotoxinbacteriuria