microorganism

[ mahy-kroh-awr-guh-niz-uhm ]
See synonyms for microorganism on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. any organism too small to be viewed by the unaided eye, as bacteria, protozoa, and some fungi and algae.

Origin of microorganism

1
First recorded in 1875–80; micro- + organism

Other words from microorganism

  • mi·cro·or·gan·ic [mahy-kroh-awr-gan-ik], /ˌmaɪ kroʊ ɔrˈgæn ɪk/, mi·cro·or·gan·is·mal, adjective

Words Nearby microorganism

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How to use microorganism in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for microorganism

microorganism

/ (ˌmaɪkrəʊˈɔːɡəˌnɪzəm) /


noun
  1. any organism, such as a bacterium, protozoan, or virus, of microscopic size

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 microorganism

microorganism

[ mī′krō-ôrgə-nĭz′əm ]


  1. An organism that can be seen only with the aid of a microscope and that typically consists of only a single cell. Microorganisms include bacteria, protozoans, and certain algae and fungi. See Note at germ.

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