streptococcus

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UK/ˌstɹɛptəˈkɒkəs/US/ˌstɹɛptəˈkɑkəs/

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.

Similar
strepstreptostreptococciStreptococcus anhemolyticus
OriginAncient Greek στρεπτός →
Less commonScrabble 21
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Meanings

nounstreptococcus (plural streptococci)

plural streptococci

  1. 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.

    Synonyms: strep, strepto

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA 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.

Similar
strepstrepto

More synonyms by meaning

nounspherical Gram-positive bacteria occurring in pairs or chains; cause e.g. scarlet fever and tonsillitis

Similar
streptococcistrepStreptococcus anhemolyticus
Broader
eubacteriaeubacteriumtrue bacteria
Also see
strep

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekστρεπτός“twisted, pliant”
  2. Englishstreptococcus

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.

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan estreptococ
  • estreptococbacterium
Chinese Mandarin 鏈球菌 /链球菌
  • 鏈球菌 /链球菌 (liànqiújūn)bacterium
Esperanto streptokoko
  • streptokokobacterium
Finnish streptokokki
  • streptokokkibacterium
French streptocoque
  • streptocoquebacterium
German Streptokokken
  • Streptokokkenbacterium
Greek στρεπτόκοκκος
  • στρεπτόκοκκος (streptókokkos)bacterium
Hungarian streptococcus
  • streptococcusbacterium
Italian streptococco
  • streptococcobacterium
Japanese レンサ球菌
  • レンサ球菌 (rensa kyūkin)bacterium
Malay streptokokus
  • streptokokusbacterium
Persian استرپتوکوک
  • استرپتوکوک (estereptokok)bacterium
Polish paciorkowiec, streptokok
  • paciorkowiecbacterium
  • streptokokbacterium
Portuguese estreptococo
  • estreptococobacterium
Romanian streptococ
  • streptococbacterium
Russian стрептококк
  • стрептококк (streptokokk)bacterium
Spanish streptococcus, estreptococo
  • streptococcusbacterium
  • estreptococobacterium
Swedish streptokock
  • streptokockbacterium
Tagalog estreptokoko
  • estreptokokobacterium
Turkish streptokok
  • streptokokbacterium
Ukrainian стрептокок
  • стрептокок (streptokok)bacterium
Vietnamese liên cầu khuẩn
  • liên cầu khuẩnbacterium

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with streptococcus

enterococcuscryptococcuspneumococcusechinococcuscoccusascococcus-coccuscytococcusdiplococcusmacrococcusprotococcus
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

streptococcus. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/streptococcus

MLA

“streptococcus.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/streptococcus. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “streptococcus,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/streptococcus.

Source: streptococcus on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.