bacillus — English Dictionary

Noun

1. Any of various rod-shaped, spore-forming aerobic bacteria in the genus Bacillus, some of which cause disease.

   Examples

   'This again,' said the Bacteriologist, slipping a glass slide under the microscope, 'is a preparation of the celebrated Bacillus of cholera - the cholera germ.'

   "You will conceive a bunch of grapes," said he, "which are covered by some infinitesimal but noxious bacillus.

2. Any bacilliform (rod-shaped) bacterium.

3. Something which spreads like bacterial infection.

   Usage

   • broadly
   • Figurative

   Examples

   The “bacillus of boom or depression,” he wrote, travels freely “from country to country.”

Noun

1. aerobic rod-shaped spore-producing bacterium; often occurring in chainlike formations; found primarily in soil

   Synonyms

   B

   Broader terms

   eubacteriaeubacteriumtrue bacteria