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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
Literary Hub, 11 June 2026
An analysis of its DNA revealed their contaminant to be a type of Gloeobacterium, a lineage of photosynthetic microbes that branched off from cyanobacteria over 2 billion years ago.
—Quanta Magazine, 10 June 2026
In these cases, the whale bones managed to fossilize before scavengers and microbes could demolish the massive carcasses.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 10 June 2026
The probiotics help support gut health by promoting a balanced microbiome, the community of microbes that live in your digestive tract and influence digestion, immunity, and mood.
—Lauren Panoff, Verywell Health, 8 June 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Microbe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/microbe. Accessed 13 Jun. 2026.
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microbe
noun
Medical Definition
microbe
noun
