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. )

Example Sentences

Friday's innings at Adelaide was almost this issue in microcosm.

From BBC

But Eisenstein’s staging, and in particular the editing, create a microcosm of the authorities’ cold-blooded reaction to popular unrest across Russia.

From The Wall Street Journal

It was, for a while, a microcosm of what made USC’s season so uneven.

From Los Angeles Times

“It’s really a microcosm for climate change,” she said.

From The Wall Street Journal

It was a camp that summed up the head coach's reign in microcosm: positive results but fans left wanting more from a talented squad.

From BBC

Related Words

• earth
• nature