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enterobacteria

American  
[en-tuh-roh-bak-teer-ee-uh] / ˌɛn tə roʊ bækˈtɪər i ə /

plural noun

singular

enterobacterium

  1. rod-shaped Gram-negative bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae, as those of the genera Escherichia, Salmonella, and Shigella, occurring normally or pathogenically in the intestines of humans and other animals, and the genus Erwinia, occurring in plants.

Other Word Forms

  • enterobacterial adjective

Etymology

Origin of enterobacteria

First recorded in 1950–55; entero- + bacteria

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.

An excretion similar to feces, pap is rich in microbes from the mother's digestive tract, including a particularly high number of the live tannin-protein-complex-degrading enterobacteria.

From Scientific American • Jun. 2, 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.