bactérie
bacterium, bacteria
noun bahk-teh-REE Rare
Origin: From Greek 'bakterion' (small staff), referring to the rod shape of some bacteria.
Usage Note
bactérie is grammatically feminine and singular; the plural bactéries is the usual form. Do not confuse with virus (masculine). Une bactérie résistante aux antibiotiques is an antibiotic-resistant bacterium, a common news phrase. The adjective bactérien/bactérienne means bacterial.
Examples
"Certaines bactéries sont utiles pour la digestion."
Natural Translation
Some bacteria are useful for digestion.

Free starter pack
Building your French vocabulary?
Get the 100 most common French words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.
Related Words
Explore French by topic
FrenchNow
7 min read