I. ˈbaktəˌrȯid adjective
or bac·te·roi·dal | ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷|rȯid ə l ; also bac·te·ri·oid bakˈtirēˌȯid ; or bac·te·ri·oi·dal (ˈ)bak|tirē|ȯid ə l
Etymology: International Scientific Vocabulary bacter-, bacteri- (from New Latin bacterium ) + -oid, -oidal
: resembling bacteria
II. noun
( -s )
1. : an enlarged branched bacterium (as the rhizobia found in the tubercles of leguminous plants)
2. : a symbiotic bacterium or an inclusion like a bacterium in the bacteriocytes of the fat body of certain insects