omicron

American

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

noun

the 15th letter of the Greek alphabet (O,o ).
the vowel sound represented by this letter.

omicron British

/ ˈɒmɪkrɒn, əʊˈmaɪkrɒn /

noun

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

"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

Etymology

Origin of omicron

< Greek ō mikrón, literally, small o. omega

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.

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

These findings show that the risk of cognitive decline did not abate as the pandemic virus evolved from the ancestral strain to omicron.

From Salon • Mar. 12, 2024

That single-target vaccine replaced combination shots that had been targeting both the original coronavirus strain and a much earlier omicron version.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 28, 2024

We are, according to some commentators, coming down from the second-biggest surge of COVID-19 ever, lagging behind only the first omicron wave in early 2022 in terms of the sheer number of cases.

From Slate • Jan. 19, 2024

Zero never worked its way into ancient Western numbers, so it is unlikely that the omicron is the mother of our 0.

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

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023