extremophile

British

/ ɪkˈstrɛməˌfaɪl /

noun

a microbe that lives in an environment once thought to be uninhabitable, for example in boiling or frozen water

"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

extremophile Scientific

/ ĭk-strē′mə-fīl′ /

An organism adapted to living in conditions of extreme temperature, pressure, or chemical concentration, as in highly acidic or salty environments. Many extremophiles are unicellular organisms known as archaea.

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See Examples For:

extremophile

When you can do that, you're called an extremophile.

From Salon ● Apr. 20, 2025

In ACS' Journal of Proteome Research, researchers detail a method for more accurate extremophile identification based on protein fragments instead of genetic material.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 15, 2024

Despite their trouble culturing their extremophile samples, the researchers discovered a vast diversity of microorganisms in all five locations.

From Scientific American ● Jul. 21, 2021

A breeding ground for extremophile bacteria, like the darkest crevices of the Mariana Trench.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 25, 2020

And it all relies on extremophile microorganisms that can thrive in environments rich in solutions of salts that are lethal to most forms of life.

From Nature ● Mar. 13, 2013

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023