micrococcus

[mahy-kruh-kok-uh s]

noun, plural mi·cro·coc·ci

[mahy-kruh-kok-sahy, -see] /ˌmaɪ krəˈkɒk saɪ, -si/. Bacteriology.

any spherical bacterium of the genus Micrococcus, occurring in irregular masses, many species of which are pigmented and are saprophytic or parasitic.

Origin of micrococcus

< New Latin (1872); see micro-, coccus

Related formsmi·cro·coc·cal, mi·cro·coc·cic

[mahy-kruh-kok-sik] /ˌmaɪ krəˈkɒk sɪk/, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for micrococcus

Historical Examples of micrococcus

Either kill the micrococcus or heal the wound, and you are free from both.
A Journey in Other Worlds
John Jacob Astor
The bacteria were chiefly staphylococci, rarely the pneumococcus or the micrococcus catarrhalis.
The Treatment of Hay Fever
George Frederick Laidlaw
Cocci exhibit this movement, but with the exception of the Micrococcus agilis, the cocci are non-motile.
The Elements of Bacteriological Technique
John William Henry Eyre
The nitrifying organism has been submitted as yet to but little microscopical study; it is apparently a micrococcus.
Scientific American Supplement, Vol. XIX, No. 470, Jan. 3, 1885
Various
This germ is closely related to Conn's micrococcus of bitter milk.
Outlines of Dairy Bacteriology, 8th edition
H. L. Russell

British Dictionary definitions for micrococcus

micrococcus

noun plural -cocci (-ˈkɒksaɪ)

any spherical Gram-positive bacterium of the genus Micrococcus : family Micrococcaceae

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

micrococcus in Medicine

micrococcus

[mī′krō-kŏk′əs]

n. pl. mi•cro•coc•ci (-kŏk′sī′, -kŏk′ī′)

A bacterium of the genus Micrococcus.

Related formsmi′cro•coc′cal (-kŏk′əl) adj.

Micrococcus

A genus of aerobic, gram-positive, spherical bacteria that occur singly, in pairs, or in irregular masses and are saprophytic or parasitic but not pathogenic.