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

See Examples For:

bacterial

The researchers monitored how quickly each bacterial culture multiplied and whether its growth slowed or stopped.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 17, 2026

To better reflect those conditions, the scientists constructed a simplified microbial community containing all 25 bacterial species.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 17, 2026

Daveigh Chase, of ‘Lilo & Stitch’ and ‘The Ring’ fame, died of complications of bacterial meningitis and a blood infection, her father confirmed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

In initial reports, her father, John David Schwallier, and her boyfriend said the actor died of complications from bacterial meningitis and a blood infection.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

In the summer of 1945 he had come to the lab at Cold Spring Harbor, New York, to take Delbriick’s course on bacterial viruses.

From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson