microbiologist

American  

[mahy-kroh-baee-ah-luhj-ist] / ˌmaɪ kroʊ baiˈɑ lədʒ ɪst /

noun

1. a specialist in or student of microbiology.

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Explanation

Do you love examining tiny things through a microscope? Maybe you should consider being a microbiologist! A microbiologist is a scientist who studies very small organisms. These scientists study microscopic organisms including fungi, algae, the tiny flora that live in your digestive system, and viruses that make people sick. A microbiologist might work to identify bacteria that cause disease or ensure the food supply is free of harmful microorganisms. The word microbiologist, like biologist, is rooted in the Greek word for "life," bios, with the addition of the prefix micro-, "small."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

microbiologist

Together with colleagues including Farooq Azam, a microbiologist and professor emeritus at Scripps, Inman spent four years trying to overcome that limitation.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 9, 2026

But as the food microbiologist Lee-Ann Jaykus told Nadira, it’s also possible contaminated lettuce ended up elsewhere—or even that there’s more than one outbreak happening at once.

From Slate ● Jul. 17, 2026

In this world, a player like Omeed “Atlas” Atlaschi, 31, is a microbiologist in Orange County by day, and an elite gamer by night.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 20, 2026

In 1980, he married a microbiologist, Georgia Barnett, whom he met at the National Cancer Institute, where he was senior investigator for the dermatology branch.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 23, 2025

Avery had established himself as a competent microbiologist, but had never imagined venturing into the new world of genes and chromosomes.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

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