microstructure

noun

mi·​cro·​struc·​ture ˈmī-krō-ˌstrək-chər 

: the microscopic structure of a material (such as a mineral or a biological cell)

microstructural

ˌmī-krō-ˈstrək-chə-rəl 

-ˈstrək-shrəl

adjective

Examples of microstructure in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The team found that just one to two units of alcohol a day reduced overall brain volume and gray matter volumes across a number of areas, and microstructures in the white matter. —New Atlas, 28 Feb. 2025

This method gave further insights into the armor’s microstructure. —Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 7 Feb. 2025

New fiber designs use novel core microstructures, such as photonic crystals, to constrain the light to follow the same path through cores with up to about twice the cross-sectional area as the standard 9-µm fiber. —IEEE Spectrum, 26 Jan. 2016

These microstructures are composed of overlapping stacks or layers of tissue, resembling the pages of a book, underlying dense, hair-like setae. —Grrlscientist, Forbes, 16 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

International Scientific Vocabulary

First Known Use

1881, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for microstructure

• infrastructure
• macrostructure
• nanostructure
• superstructure
• ultrastructure
• restructure
• substructure
• structure

Medical Definition

microstructure

noun

mi·​cro·​struc·​ture ˈmī-krō-ˌstrək-chər 

: microscopic structure (as of a cell)

microstructural

ˌmī-krō-ˈstrək-chə-rəl, -ˈstrək-shrəl 

adjective