microorganism

UK/ˌmaɪ.kɹəʊˈɔː.ɡəˌnɪz.m̩/US/ˌmaɪ.kɹoʊˈɔɹ.ɡəˌnɪz.m̩/

nounB2+Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #13,519 of 15,258leans written

Other forms: microorganisms

A microorganism is a creature so small it can only be seen through a microscope. A harmless microorganism.

They outnumber everything else alive and most of them have never been named. A microorganism in your gut is doing work you would not survive without.

Definitions of microorganism

1nounmicroorganismA creature so small it can only be seen through a microscope.B2+
“One microorganism in the sample had never been recorded.”

microorganism is a creature.

Where it comes from

Proto-Indo-European
*werǵ- — work
English
organism
English, today
microorganism

From micro- + organism. organism comes from organ + -ism. 1701; from organ + -ism, from ὄργανον, from Proto-Indo-European werǵ- (“work”). Compare New Latin organismus.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

microorganism in the wild

A microorganism, or microbe, is an organism of microscopic size, which may exist in its single-celled form or as a colony of cells.
Microorganism
The scientific study of microorganisms began with their observation under the microscope in the 1670s by Anton van Leeuwenhoek.
Microorganism
Most of them are anaerobes; however, there are examples of sulfate-reducing microorganisms that are tolerant of oxygen, and some of them can even perform aerobic respiration.
Sulfate-reducing microorganism
In addition, there are sulfate-reducing microorganisms that can also reduce other electron acceptors, such as fumarate, nitrate, nitrite, ferric iron (Fe3+), and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO).
Sulfate-reducing microorganism
Effective microorganisms (EM) are various blends of common predominantly anaerobic microorganisms in a carbohydrate-rich liquid carrier substrate (molasses nutrient solution) of EM Research Organization, Inc.
Effective microorganism

1 / 2

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

← Vocabulary