micro-

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Related to micro-: Micro-organism, Micro-credit

micro-

(word root) small

Examples of words with the root micro-: microscope

micro-

or micr-

pref.

a. Small: microcircuit.

b. Abnormally small: microcephaly.

c. Requiring or involving microscopy: microsurgery.

2. One millionth (10^-6): microampere.

[Greek mīkro-, from mīkros, small.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

micro-

micr-

combining form

1. small or minute: microspore.

2. (Biology) involving the use of a microscope: micrography.

3. (Tools) indicating a method or instrument for dealing with small quantities: micrometer.

4. (Biology) indicating a method or instrument for dealing with small quantities: micrometer.

5. (Pathology) (in pathology) indicating abnormal smallness or underdevelopment: microcephaly; microcyte. Compare macro-²

6. (Units) denoting 10^–6: microsecond. Symbol: μ

[from Greek mikros small]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

mi•cro

(ˈmaɪ kroʊ)

adj., n., pl. -cros. adj.

1. extremely small.

2. minute in scope or capability.

3. microcomputer.

[1965–70 micro-]

micro-

a combining form with the meanings “small” (microgamete), “small in comparison with others of its kind” (microcapsule), “too small to be seen by the unaided eye” (microorganism), “dealing with minute organisms, structures, or quantities” (microanalysis), “localized, restricted in scope or area” (microhabitat), “(of a discipline) focusing on a restricted area” (microeconomics), “containing or dealing with texts that require enlargement to be read” (microfilm), “one millionth” (microgram).

Also, esp. before a vowel,micr-.

[< Greek: from mīkrós small]

micro-

1. A prefix that means:

2. Small, as in microorganism, a very small organism.

3. One millionth, as in microgram, one millionth of a gram.

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

micro-

A prefix meaning one millionth; e.g., a microliter is a unit of volume equal to one millionth of a liter.

Translations

micro-

pref → mikro-, Mikro-

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

micro-

(maikrəu)

1. very small. micro computer; microprint; micro-organism.

2. one millionth part. microvolt (= one millionth of a volt).

References in classic literature ?

Hundred-ton guns were toys compared with the micro- organic projectiles hurled from the laboratories, the messengers of death, the destroying angels that stalked through the empire of a billion souls.