First recorded in 1985–90; from New Latin, from Greek archaîa, neuter plural of archaîos “ancient”; see origin at archaeo- ( def. )
First recorded in 1990–95; from New Latin; see origin at archaea ( def. )
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
By tracing the origins of enzymes during the earliest split between bacteria and archaea, the researchers found evidence that free-living cells may have originated independently twice.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026
Importantly, the researchers identified examples in which bacteria and archaea appear to have independently developed different enzymes capable of performing the same essential metabolic task.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026
By comparing genetic similarities and differences, they built an expanded Asgard archaea tree of life.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 20, 2026
In this study, researchers significantly expanded the known genetic diversity of Asgard archaea.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 20, 2026
Earlier studies tested the idea that perhaps the carbon-fixing archaea were far more efficient than scientists assumed, needing less nitrogen to fix the same amount of carbon.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 10, 2025
She has put BP’s U.S. biogas business Archaea up for sale just days after doing the same for its U.K.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
BP completed its purchase of Archaea in December 2022 during a time when it was trying to transition to more renewable energy sources.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026
The company, which employs nearly 14,000 people in the UK, confirmed plans to move further away from clean energy, revealing plans to sell off its US renewable natural gas business Archaea.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
"Archaea are often called ancient bacteria," says Spang.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 21, 2023
This illustration compares phospholipids from Bacteria and Eukarya to those from Archaea.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015
Coauthor Associate Professor Debnath Ghosal from The University of Melbourne says directly capturing an interaction between an Asgard archaeon and a bacterium is particularly significant.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 3, 2026
In every place, copies of the Borg co-occurred with DNA linked to a methane-oxidizing archaeon called Methanoperedens.
From Science Magazine ● Jul. 15, 2021
He is part of a team that spent a decade trying to determine the physical shape of a particular protein in a tiny bacteria-like organism called an archaeon.
From New York Times ● Nov. 30, 2020
One archaeon, called Nanoarchaeum equitans, lives as a parasite on another archaeon in near-boiling waters and has dispensed with many of its genes related to energy production and general cellular housekeeping.
From Nature ● Jan. 11, 2017
At some point, an archaeon or a primitive eukaryote engulfed a bacterium, developing a symbiotic relationship.
From Scientific American ● Nov. 30, 2015
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
