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# cyanobacteria

noun, plural (cyanobacteria; singular cyanobacterium)

«cyanobacteria» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Tiny living things, a kind of bacteria, that make their own food from sunlight like plants do. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cyanobacteria/#m1)
2. Sometimes called blue-green algae, they live in water and can turn ponds and lakes green. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cyanobacteria/#m2)

### In the lessons

In science, cyanobacteria matter because they were among the first living things to make oxygen by photosynthesis, which helped make Earth's air breathable for animals. In safety, a lake with a «blue-green algae» warning may contain cyanobacteria that can be poisonous to people and dogs, so you should not swim there. Phrases: «blue-green algae», «algal bloom».

### Examples

- Cyanobacteria make food from sunlight just like plants. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cyanobacteria/#x1)
- Billions of years ago, cyanobacteria filled the air with oxygen. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cyanobacteria/#x2)
- The sign said the lake had cyanobacteria, so no swimming. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cyanobacteria/#x3)
- Keep your dog out of the green, scummy water. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cyanobacteria/#x4)
- Under the microscope the cyanobacteria looked like tiny green threads. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cyanobacteria/#x5)
- Stromatolites are rocky mounds built by cyanobacteria. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cyanobacteria/#x6)
- A warm summer can make cyanobacteria grow fast in ponds. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cyanobacteria/#x7)

### Note

Usually used in the plural. Pronounced «sigh-AN-oh-bac-TEER-ee-a». «Cyano» means blue. They are often called algae, but they are really bacteria, not true algae. Safety: blue-green algae can make you ill; do not drink or swim in water with a warning sign.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «cyanobacteria» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cyanobacteria/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«cyanobacteria» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/cyanobacteria.html) on Mova free.