micro-organism

micro-organism

A very small organism, e.g. a protist or bacterium.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

micro-organism - any organism of microscopic size microorganismorganism, being - a living thing that has (or can develop) the ability to act or function independentlyanimal, animate being, beast, creature, fauna, brute - a living organism characterized by voluntary movementplant life, flora, plant - (botany) a living organism lacking the power of locomotionmonad - (biology) a single-celled microorganism (especially a flagellate protozoan)intestinal flora - harmless microorganisms (as Escherichia coli) that inhabit the intestinal tract and are essential for its normal functioningvirus - (virology) ultramicroscopic infectious agent that replicates itself only within cells of living hosts; many are pathogenic; a piece of nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) wrapped in a thin coat of proteinmoneran, moneron - organisms that typically reproduce by asexual budding or fission and whose nutritional mode is absorption or photosynthesis or chemosynthesisbacteria, bacterium - (microbiology) single-celled or noncellular spherical or spiral or rod-shaped organisms lacking chlorophyll that reproduce by fission; important as pathogens and for biochemical properties; taxonomy is difficult; often considered to be plantsmicrobe, germ, bug - a minute life form (especially a disease-causing bacterium); the term is not in technical usepathogen - any disease-producing agent (especially a virus or bacterium or other microorganism)protoctist - any of the unicellular protistsprotist, protistan - free-living or colonial organisms with diverse nutritional and reproductive modespilus - hairlike structure especially on the surface of a cell or microorganismvirulence, virulency - extreme harmfulness (as the capacity of a microorganism to cause disease); "the virulence of the plague"transmitter, vector - any agent (person or animal or microorganism) that carries and transmits a disease; "mosquitos are vectors of malaria and yellow fever"; "fleas are vectors of the plague"; "aphids are transmitters of plant diseases"; "when medical scientists talk about vectors they are usually talking about insects"microflora - microscopic plants; bacteria are often considered to be microflorabacteremia, bacteriaemia, bacteriemia - transient presence of bacteria (or other microorganisms) in the blood