bacillus

[ buh-sil-uh s ]

/ bəˈsɪl əs /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR bacillus ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural ba·cil·li [buh-sil-ahy] /bəˈsɪl aɪ/.

any rod-shaped or cylindrical bacterium of the genus Bacillus, comprising spore-producing bacteria.

(formerly) any bacterium.

Origin of bacillus

1880–85; < Late Latin, variant of Latin bacillum (diminutive of baculum) staff, walking stick

Words nearby bacillus

bacilli, bacilliform, bacillin, bacillosis, bacilluria, bacillus, bacillus calmette-guérin, bacillus cereus, bacillus sphaericus, bacillus thuringiensis, bacitracin

Example sentences from the Web for bacilli

That in the bacilli we have … the actual infective cause of tuberculosis.

When TB Was a Death Sentence: An Excerpt From ‘The Remedy’ |Thomas Goetz |April 16, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Cultures were made of these samples, and bacilli of different types were developed in the culture medium in a short time.

Paint Technology and Tests |Henry A. Gardner
Tubercle bacilli vary widely in their virulence, and they are more tenacious of life than the common pyogenic bacteria.

Manual of Surgery |Alexis Thomson and Alexander Miles
The curved bacilli are called “comma” bacilli, from their resemblance to the punctuation mark of that name.

The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century. |Edward W. Byrn

Have they not only eaten up the bacilli, but attacked and destroyed the red corpuscles as well?

The Doctor's Dilemma |George Bernard Shaw
I am nearly well; I am ill from time to time, but not often, and only because I am old—the bacilli have nothing to do with it.

Letters of Anton Chekhov |Anton Chekhov

British Dictionary definitions for bacilli

bacillus

/ (bəˈsɪləs) /

noun plural -cilli (-ˈsɪlaɪ)

any rod-shaped bacterium, such as a clostridium bacterium Compare coccus (def. 2), spirillum (def. 1)

any of various rodlike spore-producing bacteria constituting the family Bacillaceae, esp of the genus Bacillus

Word Origin for bacillus

C19: from Latin: a small staff, from baculum walking stick

Medical definitions for bacilli (1 of 2)

bacillus

[ bə-sĭl′əs ]

n. pl. ba•cil•li (-sĭl′ī′)

Any of various rod-shaped, usually gram-positive aerobic bacteria of the genus Bacillus that often occur in chains and include Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax.

Any of various bacteria, especially a rod-shaped bacterium.

Medical definitions for bacilli (2 of 2)

Bacillus

n.

A genus of rod-shaped gram-positive bacteria capable of producing endospores.

Scientific definitions for bacilli

bacillus

[ bə-sĭl′əs ]

Plural bacilli (bə-sĭl′ī′)

Any of various pathogenic bacteria, especially one that is rod-shaped.

Cultural definitions for bacilli

bacilli

[ (buh-sil-eye) ]

sing. bacillus

One of three forms of bacteria, usually rod-shaped.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

bacillus

noun, plural ba·cil·li [buh-sil-ahy] /bəˈsɪl aɪ/.

Origin of bacillus

Words nearby bacillus

Example sentences from the Web for bacilli