macro

adjective mac·ro \ ˈma-(ˌ)krō \

|Updated on: 25 Jun 2018

Definition of macro

1 : being large, thick, or exceptionally prominent

2 a : of, involving, or intended for use with relatively large quantities or on a large scale

b : of or relating to macroeconomics

3 : gross 1b

4 : of or relating to a macro lens or to close-up photography

Recent Examples of macro from the Web

Two of the best recent examples of that on a macro level are two of the players right behind Marte on the June slugging percentage leaderboard, Freeman and Ozuna.

— michael beller, SI.com, "Ketel Marte Is Slugging Like a Power Hitter and a Key Part of the Diamondbacks Lineup," 20 June 2018
Renewables continued their gangbusters growth, but as long as the majority of the world economy is powered by fossil fuels, a macro trend like economic growth is going to overwhelm the rise of clean energy on the margins.

— david roberts, Vox, "The most depressing energy chart of the year," 16 June 2018
Valuations are attractive but Aviva will look for more macro stability and the onshore bond market before adding to positions, Ritson said.

— subhadip sircar, Bloomberg.com, "Pain for India's State Bond Market Is Good, Investors Say," 15 June 2018
The timing was good for Fowler-Seidler on the macro level as well.

— tom krasovic, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Revisiting a Padres' draft-and-farm hype train," 11 June 2018
On a macro level, as more platforms emerged for women to make a statement with something other than their looks, the more the purpose of such a pageant came into question.

— Time, "Why the End of Miss America's Swimsuit Competition Is a Big Deal, According to Pageant History Experts," 7 June 2018
The switch from macro to micro thought processes made for invigorating and exhausting mental gymnastics.

— author: christine cunningham, Anchorage Daily News, "Instead of a black bear, hunter gets a view from a nonhunter’s eyes," 5 June 2018
There are these massive macro trends that make picking dates hard.

— nicholas thompson, WIRED, "How Facebook Wants to Improve the Quality of Your News Feed," 23 May 2018
Nothing at the macro level has gone well for the Reds.

— si.com staff, SI.com, "Nine Innings: Three Players Limiting the Cubs, Vlad Guerrero Jr.'s Eruption and Ohtani's Filthy Splitter," 29 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'macro.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of macro

macr-

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1923

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

Other Chemical Engineering Terms

alkali, cation, decant, hygroscopic, isotope, oxidize, slurry, solute, viscous

macro

noun

Definition of macro

plural macros

: a single computer instruction that stands for a sequence of operations

See macro defined for English-language learners

See macro defined for kids

Recent Examples of macro from the Web

Today’s Louis Vuitton show was that moment in macro.

— the editors of gq, GQ, "Our Favorite Moments from Virgil Abloh's Louis Vuitton Debut," 21 June 2018
But this initial segment gives viewers an idea of what’s in store: the stakes throughout Solo never veer too far into the macro-fate of the Universe, and action itself largely carries the film.

— nathan mattise, Ars Technica, "Solo film review: Best when it embraces its favorite action-movie urges," 24 May 2018
Every save, every scoring chance, every puck-handle is catalogued in a software program called Hudl and tagged with a macro for easy recall.

— alex prewitt, SI.com, "Learning to Deal With the Little Things Has Capitals' Braden Holtby on the Verge of a Stanley Cup," 5 June 2018
Also, the micro with this team is much better than the macro.

— sam mellinger, kansascity, "Mellinger Minutes: Trump kicks the NFL, Chiefs fans are cocky (?) and Mahomes' endorsements," 5 June 2018
The keys are clicky and take some getting used to, but at least are RGB backlit and programmable for macros.

— stefan etienne, The Verge, "New gaming laptops haven’t solved the battery life problem," 30 May 2018
Remember: Just because something fits your macros, doesn’t mean it’s super healthful and providing a balance of nutrients.

— daniel schultz, ms, SELF, "Here’s What You Should Know Before Going on the Keto Diet," 16 Apr. 2018
This keyboard includes full n-key rollover, anti-ghosting, on-the-fly macro recording, six macro keys, and a media control panel.

— ian paul, PCWorld, "Boost your setup with big deals on near-perfect G.Skill gaming peripherals," 5 Apr. 2018
And, as was the case with GIFs, older formats like image macros found all new uses.

— angela watercutter, WIRED, "The WIRED Guide to Memes," 1 Apr. 2018

Origin and Etymology of macro

short for macroinstruction

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1959

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

Other Computer-Related Terms

adware, flash, kludge, phishing, recursive, router

MACRO Defined for English Language Learners

macro

noun

Definition of macro for English Language Learners

computers : a set of instructions that causes a computer to perform a series of tasks

Medical Dictionary

macro

adjective mac·ro \ ˈmak-(ˌ)rō \

medical Definition of macro

1 : large, thick, or excessively developed

macro layer of the cerebral cortex

2 a : of or involving large quantities : intended for use with large quantities

a macro procedure in analysis

carrying out a test on a macro scale

b : gross 1b

the macro appearance of a specimen

Learn More about macro

Nglish: Translation of macro for Spanish speakers

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macro

Definition of macro

Recent Examples of macro from the Web

Origin and Etymology of macro

Other Chemical Engineering Terms

macro

Definition of macro

Recent Examples of macro from the Web

Origin and Etymology of macro

Other Computer-Related Terms

MACRO Defined for English Language Learners

macro

Definition of macro for English Language Learners

Medical Dictionary

macro

medical Definition of macro

Learn More about macro

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