bacteria/bæk'tɪərɪə $ bæk'tɪrɪə/

n. a type of small living things, some of which can cause disease

n. 〖单bacterium/-rɪəm/〗 [P] 细菌：an illness caused by bacteria in drinking water 由饮用水中的细菌引起的疾病

◇kill bacteria 杀死细菌

巧记 bacteria为复数形式，很少用单数bacterium。类似用法的词还有data。