n.
Pronunciation: r ī - ' z ō -b ē - ə m
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -bia \ -b ē - ə \
Etymology: New Latin, from rhiz- + Greek bios life ― more at QUICK
Date: 1921
: any of a genus ( Rhizobium ) of small heterotrophic soil bacteria capable of forming symbiotic nodules on the roots of leguminous plants and of there becoming bacteroids that fix atmospheric nitrogen
– rhi · zo · bi · al \ -b ē - ə l \ adjective