Standard Lemma guide
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.
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noun
A spherical, gram-positive bacterium of the genus Streptococcus. Although commonly found benignly in the human mouth and gut, and though many species are non-pathogenic, other species can cause diseases including strep throat and more serious conditions.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: strep, strepto
Antonyms: none provided
noun
spherical Gram-positive bacteria occurring in pairs or chains; cause e.g. scarlet fever and tonsillitis
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: streptococci, strep
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: eubacteria, eubacterium, true bacteria
History
Morphologically a compound of strepto- + -coccus. They grow in chains or pairs, thus the name — from Ancient Greek στρεπτός (streptós, “twisted, pliant”), like a chain. Compare the genus name Streptococcus.
Across languages
25 source translations are retained for this English entry.
