bacterial
Americanadjective
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.
Vocabulary lists containing bacterial
Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -al, -ial
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Within just two days, bacterial abundance increased 30-fold, while respiration rates rose dramatically.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 12, 2026
The researchers emphasize that these findings are limited to mice, but they believe the results provide an encouraging proof of concept for developing new bacterial cancer therapies.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 10, 2026
The warnings were issued Wednesday because bacterial levels exceeding health standards were found in recent water samples, which could increase the risk of illness.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
Meningococcal bacteria causes most childhood cases of bacterial meningitis and septicaemia in the UK and Ireland.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
To some the term microbial insecticide may conjure up pictures of bacterial warfare that would endanger other forms of life.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
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.
