omicron

American  

[om-i-kron, oh-mi-] / ˈɒm ɪˌkrɒn, ˈoʊ mɪ- /

noun

1. the 15th letter of the Greek alphabet (O,o ).

2. the vowel sound represented by this letter.

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omicron British  

/ ˈɒmɪkrɒn, əʊˈmaɪkrɒn /

noun

1. the 15th letter in the Greek alphabet (Ο, ο), a short vowel, transliterated as o

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Etymology

Origin of omicron

< Greek ō mikrón, literally, small o. Cf. omega

Example Sentences

A show-threatening omicron shutdown, illness and the loss of Adam, who passed away at the end of April 2023.

From Los Angeles Times • May 29, 2024

After boosting with an omicron vaccine, though, the cross-reactive neutralizing antibodies against the two coronavirus species increased.

From Science Daily • May 17, 2024

This decline was evident among those infected in the early phase of the pandemic and those infected when the delta and omicron variants were dominant.

From Salon • Mar. 12, 2024

In some areas the latest wave of infections may even be higher than the 2021 omicron wave, which crested at around 6.5 million infections per day, according to Hoerger’s analysis.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 24, 2024

During the peak of ancient astronomy, Greek astronomical tables regularly employed zero; its symbol was the lowercase omicron, o, which looks very much like our modern-day zero, though it’s probably a coincidence.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife