micron

or mi·kron

[ mahy-kron ]

/ ˈmaɪ krɒn /

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noun, plural mi·crons, mi·cra

[mahy-kruh]. /ˈmaɪ krə/.

Also called micrometer. the millionth part of a meter. Symbol: μ, mu

Physical Chemistry. a colloidal particle whose diameter is between 0.2 and 10 microns.

Physics. a very small unit of pressure, equal to that exerted by a column of mercury 1μ high.

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Origin of micron

1880–85; <Greek mīkrón a little, noun use of neuter singular of mīkrós small; see -on¹

Words nearby micron

micromotion, micromount, micromyelia, micromyeloblast, micromyeloblastic leukemia, micron, micronation, Micronesia, Micronesian, micronize, micronodular

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use micron in a sentence

The tattoo ink contains a UV-activated dye inside of a plastic nanocapsule less than a micron in diameter – or thousandth of a millimeter – about the same size as an ordinary tattoo pigment.
Dynamic Tattoos Promise To Warn Wearers Of Health Threats|LGBTQ-Editor|September 27, 2020|No Straight News
By one estimate, there are a hundred million bits of debris that are a millimeter in size, a hundred trillion as small as a micron.
This Week’s Awesome Tech Stories From Around the Web (Through Sept 26)|Singularity Hub Staff|September 26, 2020|Singularity Hub
Most of the particles generated by burning wood are smaller than one micron—a size believed to be most damaging to our lungs.
The Fireplace Delusion: A Metaphor for Religious Belief|Sam Harris|February 3, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Their size is measured by the unit used in the microscope, called the micron, which is about 1⁄25000 of one inch.
Foods and Household Management|Helen Kinne

The man who studies bacteria measures by the micron, 25,000 of which go to the inch.
Rustic Sounds|Francis Darwin
This unit is the one-thousandth part of a millimeter and is called the micro-millimeter or micron.
The Fundamentals of Bacteriology|Charles Bradfield Morrey
For a moment they saw with a spectrum that reached from the star-wide waves of novas to the micro-micron skittering of neutrinos.
Captives of the Flame|Samuel R. Delany
But with the destruction of the planet an almost certainty, the collective nervous system was just one micron away from explosion.
Alien Offer|Al Sevcik

British Dictionary definitions for micron

micron

/ (ˈmaɪkrɒn) /

noun plural -crons or -cra (-krə)

a unit of length equal to 10 –6 metre. It is being replaced by the micrometre, the equivalent SI unit

Word Origin for micron

C19: New Latin, from Greek mikros small

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

Medical definitions for micron

micron

n. pl. mi•crons

micrometer2

Scientific definitions for micron

micron

[ mī′krŏn′ ]

See micrometer2.