# bacteria

> English word · Noun · IPA /bakˈtɪə̯.ri.ə/ · frequency rank #5,188

## Definitions
1. plural of bacterium

## Etymology
Borrowed from New Latin bacteria, plural of bactērium, from Ancient Greek βακτήριον (baktḗrion, “little rod”).

## Easily confused with
- **bacterial** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bacteria-vs-bacterial)
- **bacterium** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bacteria-vs-bacterium)

## Common misspellings (11)
`abcteria`, `baccteria`, `bacetria`, `bacteira`, `bacterai`, `bacterria`, `bactreia`, `bactteria`, `batceria`, `bbacteria`, `bcateria`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/bacteria