Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

coli

/ˈkoʊ.laɪ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.26 in modern English

Syllables: coli
IPA: /ˈkoʊ.laɪ/

6

Scrabble Score

4

Letters

2

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Escherichia coli, a Gram-negative bacterium commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms.

Example Sentences

"Five of the strains of E. coli are related to only one of the S. dysenteriae strains. Three of the coli are related to two of the strains of S. dysenteriae, four are related to three of the S. dysenteriae strains, and one, A-H6, is related to all."

Etymology

Ellipsis of Bacterium coli or Bacillus coli, obsolete taxonomic names of the species (now called Escherichia coli). The word itself derives from Latin colī, genitive of colon (“colon, large intestine”).

Origin

Source language: Latin

Word Breakdown

Root: colī

Derived Forms

colibacillosis colibacilluria colibacillus coliphage colisepticemia

Frequently Paired Words

colicine coliform

Synonyms

colibacillus

Rhymes With

holy slowly wholly foley goalie lowly unholy kohli rowley guacamole ravioli moly

Questions

How do you pronounce coli?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈkoʊ.laɪ/.
What does coli mean?: Escherichia coli, a Gram-negative bacterium commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms.
Where does coli come from?: It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce coli

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “coli”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈkoʊ.laɪ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “coli”.
Repeat and practice — Say “coli” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.