microbe

[ mahy-krohb ]
See synonyms for: microbemicrobesmicrobic on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a microorganism, especially a pathogenic bacterium.

Origin of microbe

1
1880–85; <French <Greek mīkro-micro- + bíos life

Other words from microbe

  • mi·crobe·less, adjective
  • mi·cro·bi·al, mi·cro·bic, mi·cro·bi·an, adjective
  • non·mi·cro·bic, adjective
  • un·mi·cro·bi·al, adjective
  • un·mi·cro·bic, adjective

Words Nearby microbe

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How to use microbe in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for microbe

microbe

/ (ˈmaɪkrəʊb) /


noun
  1. any microscopic organism, esp a disease-causing bacterium

Origin of microbe

1
C19: from French, from micro- + Greek bios life

Derived forms of microbe

  • microbial, microbic or rare microbian, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for microbe

microbe

[ krōb′ ]


  1. A microorganism, especially a bacterium that causes disease. See Note at germ.

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