nitrobacterium

N1I1T1R1O1B3A1C3T1E1R1I1U1M3

noun

Any of the several genera of bacteria in soil that take part in the nitrogen cycle, oxidizing ammonium and organic nitrogen compounds to the more soluble nitrite and nitrate.

OriginEnglish bacterium ← New Latin bactērium ← Ancient Greek βακτήριον (baktḗrion) →
Scrabble 20
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounnitrobacterium (plural nitrobacteria)

plural nitrobacteria

  1. Any of the several genera of bacteria in soil that take part in the nitrogen cycle, oxidizing ammonium and organic nitrogen compounds to the more soluble nitrite and nitrate.

Origin

  1. Egyptiannṯr
  2. Egyptiannṯrj
  3. Ancient Greekνῐ́τρον (nĭ́tron)
  4. Englishnitro-
  5. Ancient Greekβακτηρία (baktēría)
  6. Ancient Greekβακτήριον (baktḗrion)
  7. New Latinbactērium
  8. Englishbacterium
  9. Englishnitrobacterium

From nitro- + bacterium.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish typpibakteeri
  • typpibakteerispecies
Italian nitrobatterio
  • nitrobatteriospecies
Polish azotobakter
  • azotobakterspecies
Cite this entry
APA

nitrobacterium. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nitrobacterium

MLA

“nitrobacterium.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nitrobacterium. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nitrobacterium,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nitrobacterium.

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