bacteria

See also: Bacteria, bactéria, and bacterià

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /bakˈtɪə̯.ri.ə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /bækˈtɪɹ.i.ə/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪəɹiə

Etymology 1

Borrowed from New Latin bacteria, plural of bactērium, from Ancient Greek βακτήριον (baktḗrion, “little rod”).

Noun

bacteria

1. plural of bacterium

Noun

bacteria (plural bacterias)

1. (US) A type, species, or strain of bacterium.
   • 2002, A.C. Panchdhari, Water Supply and Sanitary Installations‎, 2nd edition, →ISBN, page 177:

     Anaerobic bacteria function in the absence of oxygen, where as aerobic bacteria require sunlight and also oxygen. Both these bacterias are capable of breaking down the organic matter […]

2. (US, proscribed) Alternative form of bacterium.
3. (derogatory, slang) Lowlife, slob (could be treated as plural or singular).

Usage notes

• This is the plural form of the word. While it is often used as if it were singular (as a collective noun), this is considered nonstandard by some in the US and more elsewhere. See the usage examples under bacterium.

Derived terms

• Archaebacteria / Archebacteria
• archaebacteria, archebacteria
• Bacteria
• bacterialess
• bacterin
• bacteriosis
• bacteriuria
• bacterivore
• bacterize
• Eubacteria
• eubacteria
• green non-sulfur bacteria (Chloroflexi)
• green sulfur bacteria (Chlorobiaceae)
• pseudobacteria
• purple bacteria (Pseudomonadota)
• slime bacteria (Myxococcales)
• spherobacteria

Translations

bacterium — see bacterium

See also

• culture (collective noun)

Etymology 2

From New Latin bactēria, from Ancient Greek βακτηρίᾱ (baktēríā, “rod, stick”).

Noun

bacteria (plural bacteriae)

1. (dated, medicine) An oval bacterium, as distinguished from a spherical coccus or rod-shaped bacillus.

Anagrams

• Arabetic, race-bait

Galician

Alternative forms

• bactéria (reintegrationist)

Etymology

Borrowed from New Latin bacteria, plural of bactērium, from Ancient Greek βακτήριον (baktḗrion, “little rod”).

Noun

bacteria f (plural bacterias)

1. (microbiology) bacterium (a single-celled organism with cell walls but no nucleus or organelles)

Derived terms

• bacteriano

Further reading

• “bacteria”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2025

Latin

Noun

bactēria

1. nominative/accusative/vocative plural of bactērium

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from New Latin bacteria, plural of bactērium, from Ancient Greek βακτήριον (baktḗrion, “little rod”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /baɡˈteɾja/ [baɣ̞ˈt̪e.ɾja]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɾja
• Syllabification: bac‧te‧ria

Noun

bacteria f (plural bacterias)

1. (microbiology) bacterium (a single-celled organism with cell walls but no nucleus or organelles)

Derived terms

• antibacteria
• bacterial
• bacteriano

Further reading

• “bacteria”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Welsh

Etymology

Borrowed from English bacteria, from New Latin bactēria, plural of bactērium, from Ancient Greek βακτήριον (baktḗrion, “little rod”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bakˈtɛrja/
• Rhymes: -ɛrja

Noun

bacteria (plural, singular bacteriwm m)

1. bacteria

Hyponyms

• procaryot (“prokaryote”)

Mutation

Mutated forms of bacteria

radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
bacteria	facteria	macteria	unchanged

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Further reading

• D. G. Lewis, N. Lewis, editors (2005–present), “bacteriwm”, in Gweiadur: the Welsh–English Dictionary, Gwerin
• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “bacteria”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies