noun
microbe
MY-krohb/ˈmaɪkrəʊb/
An organism or infectious agent too small to see without a microscope.
The magnified view reveals rod-shaped microbes.
Etymology
The pieces were intended to mean “a small living being.” In Greek, however, bios referred to a life or lifetime, so the compound would suggest “short-lived” instead.
In context
take your blood and look at it under the microscope exposing your blood to a special fluorescent stain that is specific for the microbe you're looking at
More examples
- Not every microbe causes disease.
- Scientists identified the microbe in the water sample.
- The soil contained a diverse community of microbes.
Forms
microbe · microbes
microbial adjective — relating to microbes
Similar words
- bacterium
- A bacterium is one kind of microbe; microbe is broader.
- pathogen
- A pathogen causes disease; many microbes do not.