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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
Clarence Schmidt, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Apr. 2025
Drinking water with elevated nitrogen is linked to human health problems, and elevated phosphorus and associated algal blooms can cause microbes to accumulate toxins such as mercury.
—John Kominoski, The Conversation, 15 Apr. 2025
These products usually contain many of the same ingredients, such as nitrogen, beneficial microbes, and enzymes, and their names are often used interchangeably.
—Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 4 Apr. 2025
Another major culprit may have been sulfur-loving microbes, which dominated the oceans and locked Earth into a cycle of low oxygen and high sulfide conditions.
—Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 30 Mar. 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 30 Apr. 2025.
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microbe
noun
Medical Definition
microbe
noun
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