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bacteria

bacterium

noun bahk-TEH-ryah Less Common
Body & Health Medicine

Origin: From Modern Latin bacteria, from Greek bakterion (small staff), referring to the rod shape.

Usage Note

Bacteria is the singular form in Spanish (unlike English, where 'bacteria' is plural). The plural is bacterias. The related adjective is bacteriano/a. In everyday speech bacteria is often used loosely to mean any germ, though technically it refers only to bacteria, not viruses.

Examples

"Esta bacteria es resistente a los antibióticos."

Natural Translation

This bacterium is resistant to antibiotics.

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