51Թ

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View synonyms for

bacterium

[ bak-teer-ee-uhm ]

noun

  1. singular of bacteria.


bacterium

/ æˈɪəɪə /

noun

  1. the singular of bacteria
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

bacterium

/ ă-îŧ-ə /

, Plural bacteria

  1. Any of a large group of one-celled organisms that lack a cell nucleus, reproduce by fission or by forming spores, and in some cases cause disease. They are the most abundant lifeforms on Earth, and are found in all living things and in all of the Earth's environments. Bacteria usually live off other organisms. Bacteria make up most of the kingdom of prokaryotes (Monera or Prokaryota), with one group (the archaea) sometimes classified as a separate kingdom.
  2. See also archaeon
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of bacterium1

1840–50; < New Latin < Greek ḗrDz, diminutive of ŧí staff; akin to áٰDz stick, Latin baculum, bacillum
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Usage

It is important to remember that bacteria is the plural of bacterium, and that saying a bacteria is incorrect. It is correct to say The soil sample contains millions of bacteria, and Tetanus is caused by a bacterium.
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

One descendant of our last common ancestor went on to engulf a photosynthetic bacterium, which would then toil away harnessing the power of the sun to fuel this progenitor of all plants.

From

The opening of a new £41m Sussex health centre has been delayed after inspectors found legionella bacterium in the heating system.

From

His company selected a bacterium from nature that doesn't eat sugar or perform photosynthesis.

From

To avoid the complications of working with a live organism, the researchers developed a powder preparation made from dead, dried cells of the bacterium.

From

An analysis of fungi collected from peat bogs has identified several species that produce substances toxic to the bacterium that causes the human disease tuberculosis.

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