micron
Americannoun
-
microns,
plural
-
micra
plural
-
Also called micrometer. the millionth part of a meter. μ, mu
-
Physical Chemistry. a colloidal particle whose diameter is between 0.2 and 10 microns.
-
Physics. a very small unit of pressure, equal to that exerted by a column of mercury 1μ high.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of micron
1880–85; < Greek mīkrón a little, noun use of neuter singular of mīkrós small; see -on 1
Compare meaning
How does micron compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Nanoplastics are generally considered anything less than one micron.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
For example, a PBH with a mass of 1022 grams -- that's a 10 with 22 zeros -- would leave behind a tunnel 0.1 micron thick.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 2, 2024
These are particles that are less than a micron in size.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 8, 2024
Transphorm uses ultra thin layers of gallium nitride that are a micron, or one thousandth of a millimetre thick, on its semiconductors.
From Reuters ● Jul. 11, 2023
To get down to the scale of atoms, you would need to take each one of those micron slices and shave it into ten thousand finer widths.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
The Brookesia micra is the tiniest of four chameleons found this year in Madagascar.
From Slate ● Dec. 26, 2012
In addition to the discovery of Brookesia micra, now the tiniest chameleon ever discovered, the researchers also announced the discovery of three additional tiny chameleon species.
From Scientific American ● Feb. 16, 2012
Starbucks poked fun at itself by unveiling new "micra" and "plenta" sizes, one absurdly small, the other as big as a bucket.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 1, 2010
Read off the number of divisions it occupies and express them as micra.
From The Elements of Bacteriological Technique A Laboratory Guide for Medical, Dental, and Technical Students. Second Edition Rewritten and Enlarged. by J. W. H. (John William Henry) Eyre
Charges must move across distances of hundreds of microns, which would correspond to hundreds of kilometers on a human scale, without becoming trapped or lost along the way.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 10, 2026
When these cells act together, they generate enough force to probe through the fibrous collagen and detect layers as far as 100 microns away.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 16, 2026
David A Lindon, from Bournemouth, Dorset, says his latest sculpture, The Yellow Smiley Face, is "invisible to the human eye", with measurements of only 11.037 by 12.330 microns.
From BBC ● Dec. 5, 2025
The dust's fine grains, just one or two microns in size, makes it easy to inhale and difficult to remove.
From Salon ● Mar. 31, 2025
A typical paramecium, for instance, is about two microns wide, 0.002 millimeters, which is really very small.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
