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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use microorganism in a sentence

  • There are other infective diseases, in which we have not yet found the causative micro-organism, but we presume its existence.

  • We do not know the cause of yellow fever despite the claims of Sanarelli that he has isolated the specific micro-organism.

  • This test is that it cannot be infected again for a long time, if at all, by the same micro-organism.

    Darwinism and Race Progress | John Berry Haycraft
  • This he also proved to be caused by a minute form of life, and that fowl cholera is due to still another form of micro-organism.

  • If I can keep the specific micro-organism that causes hog-cholera off my place, I need not fear the disease.

    The Fat of the Land | John Williams Streeter

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.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.