bacteria
ubiquitous one-celled organisms, spherical, spiral, or rod-shaped and appearing singly or in chains, comprising numerous and variously classified phyla: among the inestimable number of species are those involved in fermentation, putrefaction, infectious diseases, and nitrogen fixation.
Origin of bacteria
1Other words from bacteria
- bac·te·ri·al, adjective
- bac·te·ri·al·ly, adverb
- non·bac·te·ri·al, adjective
- non·bac·te·ri·al·ly, adverb
- See also Bacteria, domain (def. 6).
Other definitions for Bacteria (2 of 2)
(in the three-domain system of classification) the taxonomic domain comprising the bacteria.
Origin of Bacteria
2- See also domain (def. 6).
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use bacteria in a sentence
One infers that in the inorganic, mental, spiritual and nonbacterial spheres the stuff is supreme.
British Dictionary definitions for bacteria
/ (bækˈtɪərɪə) /
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
Origin of bacteria
1Derived forms of bacteria
- bacterial, adjective
- bacterially, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for bacteria
[ băk-tîr′ē-ə ]
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for bacteria
sing. bacterium
Microorganisms made up of a single cell that has no distinct nucleus. Bacteria reproduce by fission or by forming spores.
Notes for bacteria
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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