What does "spirochete" mean?

Any of several coiled bacteria of the order Spirochaetales, most of which are pathogenic to both humans and other animals.

What is a synonym for "spirochete"?

Common synonyms include: adenovirus, aerobe, aerobic bacteria, amebic, amoeba, anaerobe.

Pronounced //ˈspaɪ.ɹəˌkit//.

//ˈspaɪ.ɹəˌkit// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Noun

1
Any of several coiled bacteria of the order Spirochaetales, most of which are pathogenic to both humans and other animals.
2
parasitic or free-living bacteria; many pathogenic to humans and other animals wordnet

From translingual Spirochaeta.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.