strep

1. 1.

   spherical Gram-positive bacteria occurring in pairs or chains; cause e.g. scarlet fever and tonsillitis

   Synonymsstreptococcusstreptococci

   Broadereubacteria

   Part ofgenus Streptococcus

1. 1.

   of or relating to or caused by streptococci

   Synonymsstreptococcalstreptococcic

Other forms of strep

plural

streps·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about strep

What does strep mean?

strep means "spherical Gram-positive bacteria occurring in pairs or chains; cause e.g. scarlet fever and tonsillitis". That is the primary sense; the word has 2 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in strep?

strep has 1 syllable: strep. In IPA it is /ˈstɹɛp/.

What is another word for strep?

Close synonyms include streptococcus, streptococci, streptococcal, streptococcic. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is strep a common word?

strep is banded "Uncommon" — turns up in careful writing rather than conversation. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.