microhabitat

[ mahy-kroh-hab-i-tat ]

/ ˌmaɪ kroʊˈhæb ɪˌtæt /

Save This Word!

noun

an extremely localized, small-scale environment, as a tree stump or a dead animal.

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of microhabitat

First recorded in 1930–35; micro- + habitat

Words nearby microhabitat

micrography, microgravity, microgreen, microgreens , microgroove, microhabitat, micro-image, microinch, microinject, microinjection, microinstruction

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use microhabitat in a sentence

Rarer species in microhabitats, such as a single valley or a specific island, “typically need much more,” Venter says.
Can people protect as much space as nature needs?|Jonathan Lambert|January 21, 2021|Science News For Students
By attaching the leaves together, the spiders are creating cool and dark microhabitats that would be desirable in a dry, searing environment with plenty of predatory birds, Fulgence says.
These spiders may sew leaves into fake shelters to lure frogs to their doom|Jake Buehler|January 4, 2021|Science News
The moist soil and litter on the forest floor is an important microhabitat for fossorial and strictly terrestrial species.
A Distributional Study of the Amphibians of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico|William E. Duellman
Small box turtles occupy the same microhabitat as do the adults and seem not to be more aquatic or subterranean in habits.
Natural History of the Ornate Box Turtle, Terrapene ornata ornata Agassiz|John M. Legler

British Dictionary definitions for microhabitat

microhabitat

/ (ˌmaɪkrəʊˈhæbɪtæt) /

noun

ecology the smallest part of the environment that supports a distinct flora and fauna, such as a fallen log in a forest

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 microhabitat

microhabitat

[ mī′krō-hăb′ĭ-tăt′ ]

See microenvironment.