There are 2 definitions of proteus in English:


Syllabification: pro·te·us
Pronunciation: /ˈprōtēəs


A bacterium found in the intestines of animals and in the soil.
  • Genus Proteus; motile Gram-negative rods
More example sentences
  • Luckily for us, although they have some fussy tastes, many of the bacteria they like to eat are major pathogens, so they eat proteus and proteus is a bacterium that causes a lot of urinary tract infections.
  • Other common organisms are proteus, klebbsiela, staphylococcus and enterococcus fecalis.
  • If a proteus or another organism that can split urea is isolated from the urine the chance of underlying stone disease is considerably higher.


early 19th century: from Proteus.

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Pronunciation: fɪˌɔːrɪˈt(j)ʊərə
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There are 2 definitions of proteus in English:


Syllabification: Pro·te·us
Pronunciation: /ˈprōtēəs, ˈprōˌt(y)o͞os
1 Greek Mythology A minor sea god who had the power of prophecy but who would assume different shapes to avoid answering questions.
2 Astronomy A satellite of Neptune, the sixth closest to the planet, discovered by the Voyager 2 space probe in 1989, and having a diameter of 261 miles (420 km).

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