micromanage
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Usage
What does micromanage mean? To micromanage is to control and guide something with excessive attention to detail. Micromanage is most often used in business and industry when a manager or someone in authority tries to control the details their subordinates or colleagues should take care of. For example, if the boss of a company does the work of their employees to save time instead of letting the employees do the work, they are micromanaging. Micromanage can also be used outside of business, as with group projects, team sports, relationships, and everyday life. For example, if you tell your roommate in detail how to wash the dishes even though they know how to wash dishes, you are micromanaging your roommate. Example: Maxime always finds a way to micromanage our projects, making everyone feel useless.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of micromanage
First recorded in 1970–75; micro- ( def. ) + manage ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
One tactic that’s gained traction advises you to micromanage your micromanager.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
He hesitated to predict how the case will play out, noting that he could see the court agreeing to seek out more facts or opting not to micromanage CARB’s allowance decisions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
No matter how you slice the statute, Sutton wrote, the fact remains that “the FTC is free to micromanage every particularized decision the Authority makes.”
From Slate ● Jun. 12, 2026
Its role isn’t to micromanage decisions but to ensure transparency and to guarantee investors that financial institutions can fail without bringing down the broader economy.
From Barron's ● Feb. 18, 2026
They want constant updates on every Hab system, and they've got a room full of people trying to micromanage my crops.
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
Her father micromanaged her career, making decisions about who coached her and how they did it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026
Many said he micromanaged and at times created a difficult work environment.
From Seattle Times ● May 5, 2024
Ms Sturgeon was famous for keeping a very tight circle of advisors who micromanaged most aspects of policy.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2023
Mr. Carter took over as defense secretary as predecessors aired frustrations that they were being micromanaged by the White House.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 25, 2022
This is where transition, micromanaged by these "experts" failed.
From The Belgian Curtain Europe after Communism by Samuel Vaknin
News coverage and dinner-party conversation often focus on the micromanaging or overbearing boss.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
Moms are moving on from micromanaging their kids’ academic, extracurricular and social lives.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 9, 2026
This time around, however, the risks to the president’s micromanaging seem more acute.
From Barron's ● Jan. 8, 2026
There’s a wicked irony in micromanaging your entire life on Earth only to croak and have your soul potentially jettisoned to some formless state of being, entirely unknown to mere mortals.
From Salon ● Nov. 27, 2025
“It can be challenging to deal with a micromanaging boss who treats you poorly, particularly when you’re a skilled employee told to play below your skill level,” Elliott said.
From Slate ● Nov. 3, 2023
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
