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A hint of the Greek word bios, meaning "life", can be seen in microbe. Microbes, or microorganisms, include bacteria, protozoa, fungi, algae, amoebas, and slime molds. Many people think of microbes as simply the causes of disease, but every human is actually the host to billions of microbes, and most of them are essential to our life. Much research is now going into possible microbial sources of future energy; algae looks particularly promising, as do certain newly discovered or created microbes that can produce cellulose, to be turned into ethanol and other biofuels.
Examples of microbe in a Sentence
John Yoo and John Shu, Newsweek, 23 Jan. 2025
The Northwest Naturals frozen turkey that Villain ate had been treated with high-pressure processing, a method the company says kills harmful germs while leaving beneficial microbes intact.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 20 Jan. 2025
Extreme microbes and space colonization There are microbes on Earth that can survive in extremely harsh environments.
—Blaise Manga Enuh, The Conversation, 6 Jan. 2025
This type of threat comes not from a military confrontation with other countries, but from small, unseen microbes.
—William A. Haseltine, TIME, 3 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for microbe 
Dictionary Entries Near microbe
Cite this Entry
“Microbe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/microbe. Accessed 31 Jan. 2025.
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microbe
noun
Medical Definition
microbe
noun
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