noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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/bæˈsɪl.əs/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:B AH0 S IH1 L AH0 S
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
Any of various rod-shaped, spore-forming aerobic bacteria in the genus Bacillus, some of which cause disease.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
Any bacilliform (rod-shaped) bacterium.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
Something which spreads like bacterial infection.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: broadly, figuratively
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
aerobic rod-shaped spore-producing bacterium; often occurring in chainlike formations; found primarily in soil
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Etymology tree Latin baculum Proto-Indo-European *-lós Proto-Indo-European *-elós Proto-Italic *-elos Latin -lus Latin -illus Latin bacilluslbor. English bacillus Learned borrowing from Latin bacillus (“little staff, wand”), diminutive of baculum (“stick, staff, walking stick”).
Across languages
Translations
51 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Albanian:
bacil
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Arabic:
عَصَوِيَّة
(ʕaṣawiyya)
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Armenian:
ցուպիկ
(cʻupik)
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Armenian:
բացիլ
(bacʻil)
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Basque:
bazilo
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Belarusian:
бацы́ла
(bacýla)
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Bulgarian:
баци́л
(bacíl)
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Burmese:
ဗက်တီးရီးယားပိုး
(bakti:ri:ya:pui:)
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Catalan:
bacil
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Chinese Mandarin:
桿菌 /杆菌
(gǎnjūn)
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Chinese Mandarin:
芽孢桿菌 /芽孢杆菌
(yábāo gǎnjùn)
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Czech:
bacil
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Estonian:
batsill
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Finnish:
basilli
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
French:
bacille
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Georgian:
ბაცილა
(bacila)
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
German:
Bazillus
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Greek:
βάκιλλος
(vákillos)
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Gujarati:
દંડાણુ
(daṇḍāṇu)
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Hindi:
बैसिलस
(baisilas)
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Hindi:
दण्डाणु
(daṇḍāṇu)
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Hungarian:
bacilus
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Icelandic:
staflaga baktería
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Icelandic:
baktería
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Italian:
bacillo
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Japanese:
桿菌
(kankin)
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Japanese:
バシラス
(bashirasu)
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Japanese:
バチルス
(bachirusu)
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Khmer:
ទណ្ឌាណូ
(toandienoo)
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Korean:
간균
(gan'gyun)
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Latvian:
bacilis
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Lithuanian:
bacila
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Macedonian:
бацил
(bacil)
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Persian:
باسیلوس
(bâsilus)
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Polish:
laseczka
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Polish:
pałeczka
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Portuguese:
bacilo
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Romanian:
bacil
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Russian:
баци́лла
(bacílla)
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Serbo-Croatian:
бацил
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Serbo-Croatian:
bacil
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Slovak:
bacil
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Slovene:
bacillus
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Spanish:
bacilo
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Swedish:
bacill
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Tagalog:
habishay
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Thai:
บาซิลลัส
(baasinlát)
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Turkish:
bacillus
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Ukrainian:
баци́ла
(bacýla)
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Vietnamese:
trực khuẩn
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
Volapük:
bazil
— any bacteria in the genus Bacillus
