Definitions for bacteriabækˈtɪər i ə; -ˈtɪər i əm

Random House Webster's College Dictionary

bac•te•ri•abækˈtɪər i ə; -ˈtɪər i əm(n.pl.)(sing.)-te•ri•um

any of numerous groups of microscopic one-celled organisms constituting the phylum Schizomycota, of the kingdom Monera, various species of which are involved in infectious diseases, nitrogen fixation, fermentation, or putrefaction.
Category: Microbiology

Origin of bacteria:

1905–10; < NL < Gk baktḗria, pl. of baktḗrion; see bacterium

bac•te′ri•al•ly(adv.)

Princeton's WordNet

bacteria, bacterium(noun)
(microbiology) single-celled or noncellular spherical or spiral or rod-shaped organisms lacking chlorophyll that reproduce by fission; important as pathogens and for biochemical properties; taxonomy is difficult; often considered to be plants

Kernerman English Learner's Dictionary

bacteria(noun)ækˈtɪər i ə
tiny organisms, sometimes causing an infection

Wiktionary

bacteria(Noun)
Plural form of bacterium.

Webster Dictionary

Bacteria
see Bacterium
Bacteria
of Bacterium

U.S. National Library of Medicine

Bacteria
One of the three domains of life (the others being Eukarya and ARCHAEA), also called Eubacteria. They are unicellular prokaryotic microorganisms which generally possess rigid cell walls, multiply by cell division, and exhibit three principal forms: round or coccal, rodlike or bacillary, and spiral or spirochetal. Bacteria can be classified by their response to OXYGEN: aerobic, anaerobic, or facultatively anaerobic; by the mode by which they obtain their energy: chemotrophy (via chemical reaction) or PHOTOTROPHY (via light reaction); for chemotrophs by their source of chemical energy: CHEMOLITHOTROPHY (from inorganic compounds) or chemoorganotrophy (from organic compounds); and by their source for CARBON; NITROGEN; etc.; HETEROTROPHY (from organic sources) or AUTOTROPHY (from CARBON DIOXIDE). They can also be classified by whether or not they stain (based on the structure of their CELL WALLS) with CRYSTAL VIOLET dye: gram-negative or gram-positive.

Translations for bacteria

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary

bacteria(noun plural)

organisms not able to be seen except under a microscope, found in rotting matter, in air, in soil and in living bodies, some being the germs of disease

a throat infection caused by bacteria.

bakterie, bakterieëAfrikaans
بَكْتيريا، جَراثيمArabic
бактерииBulgarian
bactériaPortuguese (BR)
bakterieCzech
die BakterienGerman
bakterierDanish
βακτηρίδιαGreek
bacteriaSpanish
bakteridEstonian
باکتریFarsi
bakteeritFinnish
bactérie(s)French
בַּקטֶריוֹתHebrew
जीवाणुHindi
bakterijaCroatian
baktérium(ok)Hungarian
bakteriIndonesian
gerlar, bakteríurIcelandic
batteriItalian
細菌Japanese
박테리아Korean
bakterijaLithuanian
baktērijaLatvian
bakteriaMalay
bacteria anDutch
bakterieNorwegian
bakteriePolish
باکتریPersian
بكټريا، ډېروا ړه (ميكروسكوبي) ژوى چه پر نوروعضوى او غير غضوى شيانو باندې ژوندكوى او ځينى نوعې يې ناروغى تو ليدوي او ځينې يې په موره (تخمر) كولو كې برخه لرېPashto
bactériaPortuguese
bacteriiRomanian
бактерииRussian
baktérieSlovak
bakterijeSlovenian
bakterijaSerbian
bakterierSwedish
แบคทีเรียThai
bakterilerTurkish
細菌Chinese (Trad.)
бактеріїUkrainian
جراثیمUrdu
vi khuẩnVietnamese
细菌Chinese (Simp.)