bacteria

bac·te·ria

noun \bak-ˈtir-ē-ə\

plural bacteria also bac·te·ri·as

Definition of BACTERIA

: bacterium —not usually used technically

Usage Discussion of BACTERIA

Bacteria is regularly a plural in scientific and pedagogical use; in speech and in journalism it is also used as a singular, and it is sometimes pluralized as bacterias <caused by a bacteria borne by certain tiny ticks — Wall Street Journal> <more resistant to chlorine and elevated water temperatures than other bacterias — Allan Bruckheim, M.D., Chicago Tribune>. These journalistic uses are found in British as well as American sources.

Origin of BACTERIA

plural of bacterium

First Known Use: 1881

Other Microbiology Terms

pathogen, salmonella, tetanus

Rhymes with BACTERIA

Algeria, Assyria, asteria, diphtheria, Egeria, Elyria, Iberia, Illyria, Liberia, Nigeria, plumeria, porphyria, Siberia, wisteria