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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
Scott Travers, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2025
The majority of microbes on the ISS came there on the human skin.
—Ars Technica, 2 Mar. 2025
To better support astronauts’ immune systems, the team suggests intentionally cultivating communities of microbes in future space bases for humans.
—Sara Hashemi, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Feb. 2025
Far away from Earth, there’s an entire intriguing world of microbes to explore.
—Lauren Leffer, Popular Science, 27 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for microbe
Cite this Entry
“Microbe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/microbe. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
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microbe
noun
Medical Definition
microbe
noun
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