- any spherical Gram-positive bacterium of the genus Staphylococcus, typically occurring in clusters and including many pathogenic species, causing boils, infection in wounds, and septicaemia: family MicrococcaceaeOften shortened to: staph
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
staph•y•lo•coc•cus /ˌstæfələˈkɑkəs/USA pronunciation
n. [countable], pl. -coc•ci
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- /-ˈkɑksaɪ/USA pronunciation .
- Microbiologya type of bacteria with a round shape.
staph•y•lo•coc•cus
(staf′ə lə kok′əs),USA pronunciation n., pl. -coc•ci (-kok′sī).USA pronunciation [Bacteriol.]
staph•y•lo•coc•cal
(staf′ə lə kok′əl),USA pronunciation staph•y•lo•coc•cic
(staf′ə lə kok′sik),USA pronunciation adj.
- Microbiologyany of several spherical bacteria of the genus Staphylococcus, occurring in pairs, tetrads, and irregular clusters, certain species of which, as S. aureus, can be pathogenic for humans.
- Neo-Latin; see staphylo-, coccus
- 1885–90;
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
staphylococcus /ˌstæfɪləʊˈkɒkəs/ n ( pl -cocci /-ˈkɒkaɪ; US: -ˈkɒksaɪ/)
'staphylococcus' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):