əˌkanthəˈmēbə noun
Etymology: New Latin, from acanth- + amoeba
1. capitalized : a genus of free-living amoebas (family Acanthamoebidae of the order Amoebida) found especially in soil and freshwater either in the form of feeding and asexually replicating trophozoites or dormant double-walled cysts and including several (as A. culbertsoni and A. castellanii ) which are pathogenic in humans causing infections of the eye, skin, respiratory tract, and brain
2. : any amoeba of the genus Acanthamoeba