bacteriologic

bacteriologic — adjective

  • bacteriologicpositive
  • more bacteriologiccomparative
  • most bacteriologicsuperlative

1. relating to the scientific study of bacteria and the ways they affect living thi

1.adjectiveC1
Definition

relating to the scientific study of bacteria and the ways they affect living things, especially in medicine, food safety, and environmental health.

Example

The lab received a sample of river water for routine bacteriologic testing.

bacteriologic + noun: testing

Emma read the hospital's bacteriologic report to check for any harmful bacteria in the water supply.

bacteriologic report — written document of bacterial analysis

Common collocations
  • bacteriologic testing
  • bacteriologic analysis
  • bacteriologic report
  • bacteriologic safety
  • bacteriologic examination
  • bacteriologic study
Synonyms
  • bacteriological

    fully interchangeable, but 'bacteriological' is more frequent in published writing

  • microbiological

    broader scope — covers all microorganisms including viruses and fungi, not just bacteria

Grammar Patterns

bacteriologic + noun

Usage Note

Almost always used attributively (before a noun). The longer form 'bacteriological' is more common in general writing; 'bacteriologic' appears most often in technical medical and laboratory contexts.

Common Mistakes

We need to do bacteriologic of the water.
We need to do bacteriologic testing of the water.
This adjective is rarely used alone; it typically modifies a noun like 'testing,' 'analysis,' or 'report.'
The bacteria is bacteriologic.
The bacteria were studied in a bacteriologic laboratory.
'Bacteriologic' describes the field or method, not the bacteria themselves.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

'Bacteriologic' and 'bacteriological' are interchangeable and share the same scientific root — the shorter form appears more often in technical lab reports, while the longer form dominates general academic writing. 'Microbiological' covers all microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa) and is appropriate when the study is not limited to bacteria alone. 'Antibacterial' shifts meaning entirely: it describes substances that kill or stop bacteria (e.g., antibacterial soap), not the study of bacteria. For example, a lab may conduct a 'bacteriologic analysis' of a wound sample, while a compound tested in that analysis might be described as 'antibacterial.'

bacteriological ↗microbiological ↗antibacterial ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Etymology

GreekLatinEnglish

Coined from 'bacterium' (from Greek 'baktērion,' meaning 'small rod,' because early observed bacteria were rod-shaped) combined with the suffix '-logic' (from Greek '-logia,' meaning 'study of' or 'pertaining to the study of'). The word entered English medical terminology in the late 19th century, when bacteriology became an established scientific discipline.

First known use

1885

1885, in the meaning defined above