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microbe

American  
[mahy-krohb] / ˈmaɪ kroʊb /

noun

  1. a microorganism, especially a pathogenic bacterium.

microbe British  
/ ˈmaɪkrəʊb /

noun

  1. any microscopic organism, esp a disease-causing bacterium

"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
microbe Scientific  
/ mī′krōb′ /

  1. A microorganism, especially a bacterium that causes disease.

  2. See Note at germ

Other Word Forms

  • microbeless adjective
  • microbial adjective
  • microbian adjective
  • microbic adjective
  • nonmicrobic adjective
  • unmicrobial adjective
  • unmicrobic adjective

Etymology

Origin of microbe

1880–85; < French < Greek mīkro- micro- + bíos life

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.