Meanings
- medicineA staining technique, using a sequence of crystal violet, iodine and safranine, used to differentiate bacteria into two large groups of species.
Synonyms: Gram staining
Synonyms & antonyms
proper nounA staining technique, using a sequence of crystal violet, iodine and safranine, used to differentiate bacteria into two large groups of species.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna staining technique used to classify bacteria; bacteria are stained with gentian violet and then treated with Gram's solution; after being decolorized with alcohol and treated with safranine and washed in water, those that retain the gentian violet are Gram-positive and those that do not retain it are Gram-negative
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
After Hans Christian Gram, Danish bacteriologist.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Gram's method. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Gram's%20method
“Gram's method.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Gram's%20method. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Gram's method,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Gram's%20method.
Source: Gram's method on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.