n.
A minute life form; a microorganism, especially a bacterium that causes disease. Not in technical use.
[French : Greek mīkro-, micro- + Greek bios, life.]
microbial mi·cro'bi·al (mī-krō'bē-əl) or mi·cro'bic (-krō'bĭk) adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.