microbiome

noun

mi·​cro·​bi·​ome ˌmī-krō-ˈbī-ˌōm How to pronounce microbiome (audio)
1
: a community of microorganisms (such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses) that inhabit a particular environment and especially the collection of microorganisms living in or on the human body
Your body is home to about 100 trillion bacteria and other microbes, collectively known as your microbiome.Carl Zimmer
… what's arguably become the hottest area of medicine: microbiome research, an emerging field that's investigating how the bacteria that live in and on our bodies affect our health.Sunny Sea Gold
2
: the collective genomes of microorganisms inhabiting a particular environment and especially the human body
They form one community among the many that make up the human microbiome: the full genetic complement of bacteria and other organisms at home on your skin, gums, and teeth, in your genital tract, and especially in your gut.Nathan Wolfe

Examples of microbiome in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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This led to the Eggerthella discovery, as well as higher soft drink intake associated with lower alpha-diversity—a measure in the overall evenness and diversity of the gut microbiome composition—in females. Hannah Millington, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025 Past research has shown that the gut microbiome and the immune system work together as microbes help train our defenses, and the immune system keeps them in check. Deirdre Bardolf, FOXNews.com, 30 Sep. 2025 In a mouse study, maple syrup improved the gut microbiome (the community of microorganisms in the digestive tract) and acts similarly to prebiotics, which help the good bacteria in your gut flourish. Brittany Lubeck, Verywell Health, 29 Sep. 2025 Researchers hypothesized that, along with the rest of her diet, this habit kept her gut microbiome resembling that of a much younger person and reduced her levels of inflammation. Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 26 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for microbiome

Word History

Etymology

micro- + biome

First Known Use

1952, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of microbiome was in 1952

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Microbiome.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/microbiome. Accessed 4 Oct. 2025.

Medical Definition

microbiome

noun
mi·​cro·​bi·​ome ˌmī-krō-ˈbī-ˌōm How to pronounce microbiome (audio)
1
: a community of microorganisms (such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses) that inhabit a particular environment and especially the collection of microorganisms living in or on the human body
The intestinal microbiome consists of the microorganisms that inhabit the gut.Clara Abraham et al., The New England Journal of Medicine
Collectively known as the microbiome, this community may play a role in regulating one's risk of obesity, asthma and allergies.Carrie Arnold, Scientific American
The human oral microbiome comprises all microbial species in the oral cavity.Naomi P. O'Grady, The Journal of the American Medical Association
2
: the collective genomes of microorganisms inhabiting a particular environment and especially the human body
As part of a new citizen-science initiative called the American Gut project, the lab sequenced my microbiome—that is, the genes not of "me," exactly, but of the several hundred microbial species with whom I share this body.Michael Pollan, The New York Times
Together, the genomes of these microbial symbionts (collectively defined as the microbiome) provide traits that humans did not need to evolve on their own.Peter J. Turnbaugh et al., Nature
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