bacterial

American  

[bak-teer-ee-uhl] / bækˈtɪər i əl /

adjective

1. caused by or relating to bacteria.

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Explanation

If your illness is caused by bacteria, you can describe it as bacterial. For example, a lung infection that results from being exposed to bacteria is called bacterial pneumonia. Some infections and illnesses are caused by viruses, and they're called viral. Other kinds occur when your immune system is invaded by microorganisms called bacteria, and these are bacterial. You're most likely to hear the adjective bacterial when you're sick. The root word, bakterion, is Greek for "small staff or rod." Bacterial organisms were named this way in the 1830's because the first bacteria observed through a microscope were rod-shaped.

Example Sentences

LimmaTech is developing vaccines against bacterial pathogens including Staphylococcus aureus.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 26, 2026

While chlamydia was still the most commonly reported bacterial infection overall, cases had fallen 6% since 2015 to 213,443.

From BBC • May 21, 2026

According to the MMWR, investigators said the cooling tower had malfunctioned, leading to either very little or no injection of chemicals that would prevent bacterial growth.

From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2026

The researchers also found that oxygen plays a surprisingly important role in determining how these bacterial messages influence plaque growth.

From Science Daily • May 8, 2026

An even more important role has been played by a bacterial disease that affects beetles of the family to which the Japanese beetle belongs — the scarabaeids.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson