microcosm

noun

mi·​cro·​cosm ˈmī-krə-ˌkä-zəm 

1

: a little world

especially : the human race or human nature seen as an epitome (see epitome sense 1) of the world or the universe

2

: a community or other unity that is an epitome (see epitome sense 2) of a larger unity

The suburb has been the microcosm of the city.

microcosmic

ˌmī-krə-ˈkäz-mik 

adjective

microcosmically

ˌmī-krə-ˈkäz-mi-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

Phrases

in microcosm

: in a greatly diminished size, form, or scale

Did you know?

Small wonder that the oldest meaning of microcosm in our dictionary is “little world”: the word comes ultimately from the Greek phrase mikros kosmos, meaning “little universe.” That meaning can be applied to many a wee realm, as in “the microcosm of the atom,” but microcosm was originally used by medieval scholars specifically to refer to humans as miniature embodiments of the natural universe. Microcosm soon expanded to refer to places (such as neighborhoods or other communities) thought to embody at a small scale characteristics of larger places, and later to anything serving as an apt representation of something bigger—as when Arthur C. Clarke, famed author of much fiction and nonfiction set in the cosmos, noted that “a sunken ship is a microcosm of the civilization that launched it.”

Examples of microcosm in a Sentence

The village is a microcosm of the whole country.

The game was a microcosm of the entire season.

Recent Examples on the Web

The republic is in many ways a microcosm of Russia’s diversity. —Kathleen Magramo, CNN, 24 June 2024

Hawaii is a microcosm of the challenges of tourism – there’s a complicated interplay between how many locals depend directly and indirectly on tourism and how tourism depletes the island’s limited natural resources and drives up prices for those who live there. —Christine Sarkis, USA TODAY, 23 Apr. 2024

By Scott Hocker, The Week US published 15 April 2024 Kerala is a microcosm of India itself. —Scott Hocker, theweek, 15 Apr. 2024

The reconstruction challenge is therefore a microcosm of the larger quandaries of international engagement in Syria’s revolution over the past decade: no major power wants to help extremist opposition elements prevail, but neither does the West want to hand Assad a clear victory. —Jeremy Konyndyk, Foreign Affairs, 21 Mar. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Medieval Latin microcosmus, modification of Greek mikros kosmos

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing microcosm

• in microcosm

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Kids Definition

microcosm

noun

mi·​cro·​cosm ˈmī-krə-ˌkäz-əm 

: an individual or community thought of as a miniature universe or a world in itself