Plural of Amoeba

The Plural of Amoeba

The plural of amoeba is amoebae or amoebas.

• Some amoebae are predatory and live by consuming bacteria.
• Amoebas are so tiny that you need a microscope to see them.

The noun amoeba has a Latin root, which is the derivation of the plural amoebae. Through common usage, amoebas (which adheres to the standard rules for forming plurals) is also now acceptable.

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The Standard Rules for Forming the Plurals

The table below shows the standard rules for forming the plurals of nouns in English.

Type	Example of Type	Forming the Plural	Plural
Most Nouns	amoeba scythe	add s	amoebas scythes
Noun Ending s, sh, ch, x or z	box dress	add es	boxes dresses
Nouns ending [consonant] o	hero zero tomato	add either s or es (There are no rules for this - you have to know.)	heroes zeros tomatoes
Nouns ending [vowel] o	patio ratio	add s	patios ratios
Nouns ending [consonant] y	story penny	change the y to an i and add es	stories pennies
Nouns ending [vowel] y	donkey chimney	add s	donkeys chimneys
Nouns ending f or fe	dwarf hoof	ves and/or s (There are no rules - you have to know.)	dwarfs hooves or hoofs
Exceptions	man louse	some nouns undergo a vowel or letters change	men lice
More exceptions	salmon sheep	some nouns do not change at all	salmon sheep
Foreign rulings	amoeba medium	some nouns adopt foreign rulings	amoebae media

Read more about English spelling rules.

Why Is There Confusion over the Plural of Amoeba?

Confusion arises over the plural of amoeba because its original plural form (amoebae) derives from Latin and native English speakers are drawn to amoebas, which adheres to the standard ruling for forming plurals.

Both amoebae and amoebas are acceptable, but amoebae is the more common plural and the safest option. (See the evidence in Google's Ngram Viewer.)

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