germ
a microorganism, especially when disease-producing; microbe.
a bud, offshoot, or seed.
the rudiment of a living organism; an embryo in its early stages.
the initial stage in development or evolution, as a germ cell or ancestral form.
something that serves as a source or initial stage for subsequent development: the germ of an idea.
Pathology. of, relating to, or caused by disease-producing germs.
Origin of germ
1Other words for germ
Other words from germ
- germless, adjective
- germlike, adjective
Words Nearby germ
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use germ in a sentence
Some coronavirus experts have suggested that on reinfection the covid-19 germ will stay in the upper airway, causing sniffles, rather than penetrating the lungs to cause pneumonia.
Hong Kong researchers say they’ve found the world’s first case of covid-19 reinfection | Antonio Regalado | August 24, 2020 | MIT Technology ReviewA world of germs is vying to invade your body and make you sick.
Among such immune people, a germ now has a hard time finding a new host.
Coronavirus lockdowns may have avoided 531 million infections | Erin Garcia de Jesus | June 12, 2020 | Science News For StudentsWithout masks, people sick with the new coronavirus can likely spread the germs even without coughing or sneezing.
How much do masks help against COVID-19? | Tina Hesman Saey | April 23, 2020 | Science News For StudentsScientists might also use this information to learn how such germs keep their hosts — us — healthy.
Check out the communities of bacteria living on your tongue | Erin Garcia de Jesus | April 22, 2020 | Science News For Students
And despite years of speculation, nobody has proved Assad has any germ warfare capability at all.
Western Intelligence Suspects Assad Has a Secret Chemical Stockpile | Noah Shachtman, Christopher Dickey | May 1, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST“Those practices did develop out of concerns about germ-sharing about a century ago,” she said.
When asked if the potential for germ-sharing bothered her, she scoffed: “Not at all.”
Eisner, who lives in a city obsessed with health, has noticed that people have gotten quite germ-phobic.
In the meantime, toss out that beef jerky, and bust open that vat of wheat-germ!
There was no doubt thought of his own loss in this question: yet there was, one may hope, a germ of solicitude for the mother too.
Children's Ways | James SullyA germ flies from a stagnant pool, and the laughing child, its mother's darling, dies dreadfully of diphtheria.
God and my Neighbour | Robert BlatchfordMr. William Aird, the germ-proof man, has been giving demonstrations in London.
It is reported that last week a germ snapped at him and broke off two of its teeth.
The boy struck him as talented, but nothing made him suspect the germ of a great composer.
The Life & Letters of Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky | Modeste Tchaikovsky
British Dictionary definitions for germ
/ (dʒɜːm) /
a microorganism, esp one that produces disease in animals or plants
(often plural) the rudimentary or initial form of something: the germs of revolution
a simple structure, such as a fertilized egg, that is capable of developing into a complete organism
Origin of germ
1Collins 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 germ
[ jûrm ]
A microscopic organism or agent, especially one that is pathogenic, such as a bacterium or virus.
usage For germ
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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