Bacteria are very small organisms. Some bacteria can cause disease.
Chlorine is added to kill bacteria.
More Synonyms of bacteria
bacteria in British English
(bækˈtɪərɪə)
plural nounWord forms: 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
Derived forms
bacterial (bacˈterial)
adjective
bacterially (bacˈterially)
adverb
Word origin
C19: plural of New Latin bacterium, from Greek baktērion, literally: a little stick, from baktron rod, staff
bacteria in American English
(bækˈtɪriə)
plural nounWord forms: singularbacˈterium (bækˈtɪriəm) 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.
Derived forms
bacterial (bacˈterial)
adjective
bacterially (bacˈterially)
adverb
Word origin
ModL, pl. of bacterium < Gr baktērion, dim. of baktron, a staff: see bacillus
Examples of 'bacteria' in a sentence
bacteria
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.
In other languages
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
Latin American Spanish: bacteria
Swedish: bakterie
Thai: เชื้อแบคทีเรีย
Turkish: bakteri
Ukrainian: бактерія
Vietnamese: vi khuẩn
All related terms of 'bacteria'
bacterium
Bacterium is the singular of → bacteria .
bacteria bed
a layer of sand or gravel used to expose sewage effluent , in its final stages, to air and the action of microorganisms
nitric bacteria
bacteria that convert nitrites to nitrates in the soil
coliform bacteria
a large group of bacteria inhabiting the intestinal tract of humans and animals that may cause disease and whose presence in water is an indicator of faecal pollution
nitrous bacteria
bacteria that convert ammonia to nitrites in the soil
Chinese translation of 'bacteria'
bacteria
(bækˈtɪərɪə)
n pl
细(細)菌 (xìjūn)
(plural noun)
Definition
a large group of microorganisms, many of which cause disease
Chlorine is added to kill bacteria.
Synonyms
microorganisms
viruses
bugs (slang)
germs
microbes
pathogens
bacilli
Usage note
Bacteria is a plural noun. It is therefore incorrect to talk about a bacteria, even though this is quite commonly heard, especially in the media. The correct singular is a bacterium.