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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
Chiara Eisner, NPR, 25 May 2024
If a solution isn't found, it is estimated that drug-resistant microbes will lead to around 10 million deaths per year by 2050.
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—Sabienna Bowman, Peoplemag, 16 May 2024
One billion years ago life on Earth consisted of microbes.
—Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 21 Mar. 2023
At the core of the dual-use research problem is information, rather than microbes, and overregulating the flow of information risks stifling science and crippling international collaborative research.
—Laurie Garrett, Foreign Affairs, 1 Nov. 2013
See all Example Sentences for microbe 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'microbe.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Microbe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/microbe. Accessed 18 Jun. 2024.
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microbe
noun
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microbe
noun
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