microcosm

American  

[mahy-kruh-koz-uhm] / ˈmaɪ krəˌkɒz əm /

noun

1. a little world; a world in miniature (macrocosm ).

   The human body is a microcosm.

2. anything regarded as a representative, miniature version of a larger complex reality.

   The fictional small town of Black Rock, California, serves as a microcosm of America in the postwar era.

3. Environmental Science. a controlled experimental environment or ecosystem small enough to be housed in a laboratory and reproducing conditions that occur on a larger scale in the outdoors.

   Researchers have investigated the survival of this bacteria in saline solutions and seawater in laboratory microcosms.

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

   In the human microcosm, intellect is the deep spiritual center of being.

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microcosm British  

/ ˈmaɪkrəʊˌkɒzəm, ˌmaɪkrəʊˈkɒzmɒs /

noun

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

2. man regarded as epitomizing the universe

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microcosm Cultural  

1. 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.)

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Other Word Forms

• microcosmic adjective
• microcosmical adjective

Etymology

Origin of microcosm

First recorded in 1150–1200; micro- ( def. ) + -cosm ( def. )

Explanation

When you think of microcosm, picture your home town inside a snow globe. The teeny tiny city is a microcosm of the one you live in. It is that place in miniature. Microcosm can be used to describe anything that is a miniature representation of something else. Think of a specific event that symbolizes the way things always seems to go, like the way a kind act by your mom can represent the caring relationship you have with her. That weekend with your partner that started with laughter but ended in tears? That's a microcosm of the whole lousy relationship. The dance where you regretted your outfit, giggled with friends, annoyed a teacher, and missed your chance at dancing with your crush? A microcosm of high school.

Example Sentences

Filled with my furniture, with paintings and posters leaning against its corrugated metal walls, it looked like the house in microcosm, as if I had moved, under duress, to a shipping container.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 11, 2026

This was Spurs in microcosm with mistake piled upon mistake – the self-destruct button pressed with despairing regularity.

From BBC • Mar. 10, 2026

Tuliaupupu’s near-decade playing college sports is a microcosm of a growing trend in the amateur ranks, where athletes are staying in school longer to keep playing and competing as students.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 11, 2026

In culture and in publishing as a microcosm of culture, there is, in my mind, quite an unfortunate move toward uncomplicated and unnuanced takes, because we’re all overwhelmed by all the information in daily life.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 10, 2026

The laundry room was both one of the wars obscure crannies and a microcosm of the war itself, a sophisticated, efficient machine capable of processing eighteen thousand bundles of laundry each week.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly

Related Words

• earth
• nature