microcosm

[ mahy-kruh-koz-uh m ]

/ ˈmaɪ krəˌkɒz əm /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR microcosm ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a little world; a world in miniature (opposed to macrocosm).

anything that is regarded as a world in miniature.

human beings, humanity, society, or the like, viewed as an epitome or miniature of the world or universe.

Nearby words

microcomputing, microconstituent, microcopy, microcoria, microcornea, microcosm, microcosmic salt, microcoustic, microcredit, microcrystal, microcrystalline

Origin of microcosm

1150–1200; Middle English microcosme < Medieval Latin mīcrocosmus < Greek mīkròs kósmos small world. See micro-, cosmos

Also called mi·cro·cos·mos

[mahy-kruh-koz-muh s, -mohs] /ˌmaɪ krəˈkɒz məs, -moʊs/.

Related formsmi·cro·cos·mic, mi·cro·cos·mi·cal, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for microcosm

But what happens at Winchester University is a microcosm of the cruel world beyond its be-crested gates.
‘Dear White People’ Is the Race Movie America Didn’t Know It Needed|Rawiya Kameir|October 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I begin to observe that it sounds as if Sully is in microcosm what Newman himself…but that is as far as I get.
The Stacks: The Eyes of Winter: Paul Newman at 70|Peter Richmond|October 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Altogether, the monks, the Dukes, and the winemakers created a microcosm the influence of which can still be felt today.
The Next UNESCO World Heritage Site: Burgundy’s Pinot Noir Country?|Jordan Salcito|May 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Or a microcosm of the debate that has consumed the nation and a harbinger of what is to come?
Swing States Sit Out Obamacare: What Four Holdouts Are Doing|David Freedlander|September 27, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Think of these two episodes as a microcosm of the state of housing in this great city.
They All Fall Down: The Perils of Mumbai Housing|Dilip D’Souza|April 12, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Each man's macrocosm is apt to be related to his microcosm, as the convex to the concave of a curve.
Social Rights And Duties|Leslie Stephen
Their organisation was a microcosm of that of the entire Empire.
German Society at the Close of the Middle Ages|Ernest Belfort Bax
Man is a microcosm, that is, a little world, and therefore he doth command all other living creatures and they obey him.
The Works of Aristotle the Famous Philosopher|Anonymous
The engineer was to them a microcosm, a compound of every science, a possessor of all human knowledge.
The Mysterious Island|Jules Verne
It is, as he admits, an audacious proposal to pit the microcosm against the macrocosm.
Social Rights and Duties, Volume I (of 2)|Sir Leslie Stephen

British Dictionary definitions for microcosm

microcosm

microcosmos (ˌmaɪkrəʊˈkɒzmɒs)

/ (ˈmaɪkrəʊˌkɒzəm) /

noun

a miniature representation of something, esp a unit, group, or place regarded as a copy of a larger one

man regarded as epitomizing the universe

Compare macrocosm

Derived Formsmicrocosmic or microcosmical, adjective

Word Origin for microcosm

C15: via Medieval Latin from Greek mikros kosmos little world

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

Culture definitions for microcosm

microcosm

A representation of something on a much smaller scale. Microcosm means “small world,” and in the thought of the Renaissance, it was applied specifically to human beings, who were considered to be small-scale models of the universe, with all its variety and contradiction. (Compare macrocosm.)

microcosm

noun

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of microcosm

Examples from the Web for microcosm

British Dictionary definitions for microcosm

microcosm

microcosmos (ˌmaɪkrəʊˈkɒzmɒs)

noun

Word Origin for microcosm

Culture definitions for microcosm

microcosm