bacteria
[bak-teer-ee-uh]
- 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.
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Origin of bacteria
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for bacteria
Contemporary Examples
The more antibiotics are used inappropriately, the greater the risk of bacteria growing resistant to them.
Without Education, Antibiotic Resistance Will Be Our Greatest Health CrisisRussell Saunders
December 19, 2014
If all animals vanished, most bacteria would still live on, but if all bacteria disappeared, we would die quickly.
Why Did It Take So Long For Complex Life To Evolve On Earth? Blame Oxygen.Matthew R. Francis
November 2, 2014
But consider that when we eat, the bacteria are actually fed first.
On the other hand, the population of the other major group of bacteria, Bacteroidetes, increased.
Allen says that some strains of bacteria may be potentially beneficial for some people but harmful to others.
Historical Examples
Phim sticks to it, too; tells me my peg is downright encouragement to the bacteria.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
A simple experiment will show that no bacteria will exist in that vapor.
Bacteria that do not bother you very much might be deadly to us.
Islands of SpaceJohn W Campbell
There seems to be no bacteria in the abysses, so there can be no rotting.
The Outline of Science, Vol. 1 (of 4)J. Arthur Thomson
This disease is caused by bacteria, of which you have read in another section.
Agriculture for BeginnersCharles William Burkett
bacteria
- 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 animalsSee also prokaryote
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Word Origin
C19: plural of New Latin bacterium, from Greek baktērion, literally: a little stick, from baktron rod, staff
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for bacteria
n.
1847, plural of Modern Latin bacterium, from Greek bakterion "small staff," diminutive 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 German naturalist Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg (1795-1876).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
bacteria
(băk-tîr′ē-ə)- Plural ofbacterium
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
bacteria
[băk-tîr′ē-ə]
- Plural of bacterium.
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bacterium
[băk-tîr′ē-əm]
- 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. See also archaeon prokaryote.
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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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
bacteria
sing. bacterium
Microorganisms made up of a single cell that has no distinct nucleus. Bacteria reproduce by fission or by forming spores.
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Note
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.