spirochete

or spi·ro·chaete

[ spahy-ruh-keet ]

/ ˈspaɪ rəˌkit /

noun

any of various spiral-shaped motile bacteria of the family Spirochaetaceae, certain species, as Treponema, Leptospira, and Borrelia, being pathogenic to humans and other animals, and other species being free-living, saprophytic, or parasitic.

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Origin of spirochete

1875–80; < New Latin spīrochaeta. See spiro-², chaeta-

OTHER WORDS FROM spirochete

spi·ro·chet·al, spi·ro·che·tic, adjective

Words nearby spirochete

spirketting, spiro-, spirochaeta, spirochaete, spirochaetosis, spirochete, spirochetemia, spirochetosis, spirogram, spirograph, spirogyra

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for spirochete

By far the most important of these is the spirillum or spirochete of Obermeier, which has been already carefully described.
A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I|Various

Medical definitions for spirochete

spirochete

[ spī′rə-kēt′ ]

n.

Any of various slender, spiral, motile bacteria of the order Spirochaetales, many of which are pathogenic, causing syphilis, relapsing fever, yaws, and other diseases.

Scientific definitions for spirochete

spirochete

[ spī′rə-kēt′ ]

Any of various bacteria of the order Spirochaetales that are shaped like a spiral, such as Treponema pallidum, the pathogen that causes syphilis.