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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
Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 2 Jan. 2026
Naturally, the more microbes, the more heat.
—Samantha Johnson, Martha Stewart, 2 Jan. 2026
Du identified bristleworms, gastropods, clams, tubeworms and other organisms living in the extreme depths, supported not by sunlight but chemosynthetic microbes drawing energy from methane and sulfide seeping through the ocean floor.
—New Atlas, 31 Dec. 2025
Some of its nerve endings can sense the microbes that live in our guts, tracing the rise and fall of their populations.
—The New York Times News Service Syndicate, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Dec. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Microbe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/microbe. Accessed 3 Jan. 2026.
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microbe
noun
Medical Definition
microbe
noun
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