Main Entry: ba·cil·lus

Pronunciation: \bə-ˈsil-əs\

Function: noun

Inflected Form(s): plural ba·cil·li \-ˌī also -ē\

1 a capitalized : a genus of rod-shaped gram-positive endospore-producing usually aerobic bacteria of the family Bacillaceae that include many saprophytes and some parasites (as B. anthracis of anthrax) b : any bacterium of the genus Bacillus ; broadly : a straight rod-shaped bacterium
2 : bacterium ; especially : a disease-producing bacterium