Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

bacteria

/bækˈtɪɹ.i.ə/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.19 in modern English

Syllables
bac-te-ria
IPA
/bækˈtɪɹ.i.ə/
12
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
4
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

plural of bacterium

noun

A type, species, or strain of bacterium.

American usage

noun

Alternative form of bacterium.

American usage

noun

Lowlife, slob (could be treated as plural or singular).

Derogatory; Slang

noun

An oval bacterium, as distinguished from a spherical coccus or rod-shaped bacillus.

Dated

Example Sentences

Etymology

Etymology tree Ancient Greek βακτηρία (baktēría) Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Ancient Greek -ῐος (-ĭos)? Ancient Greek -ιον (-ion) Ancient Greek βακτήριον (baktḗrion)bor. New Latin bactēriabor. English bacteria Borrowed from New Latin bacteria, plural of bactērium, from Ancient Greek βακτήριον (baktḗrion, “little rod”); by surface analysis, bacteri(um) + -a.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: βακτήριον, bactēria, βακτηρίᾱ

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /bækˈtɪɹ.i.ə/
  • British English: /bakˈtɪə̯.ri.ə/

Usage

Inflected Forms

bacterias (plural) bacteriae (plural)

Derived Forms

Archaebacteria Archebacteria Bacteria bacterialess bacterin bacteriosis bacteriuria bacterivore bacterize Eubacteria pseudobacteria spherobacteria

Phrases

green non-sulfur bacteria green sulfur bacteria purple bacteria slime bacteria

Frequently Paired Words

culture

Synonyms

bacterium

Rhymes With

syria nigeria criteria algeria siberia cafeteria iberia assyria listeria elyria seria gaviria

Questions

How do you pronounce bacteria?
The recorded pronunciation is /bækˈtɪɹ.i.ə/.
What does bacteria mean?
plural of bacterium
Where does bacteria come from?
It is traced to Ancient Greek.

How to pronounce bacteria

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “bacteria”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/bækˈtɪɹ.i.ə/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “bacteria”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “bacteria” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.