micro-organism

Other forms: micro-organisms

Definitions of micro-organism

1. noun

   any living thing that is too small to be seen with the naked eye
   synonyms: microorganism

   types:

   monad

   (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 functioning

   virus

   (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 protein

   moneran, moneron

   organisms that typically reproduce by asexual budding or fission and whose nutritional mode is absorption or photosynthesis or chemosynthesis

   bacteria, 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 plants

   bug, germ, microbe

   a minute life form (especially a disease-causing bacterium); the term is not in technical use

   pathogen

   any disease-producing agent (especially a virus or bacterium or other microorganism)

   protoctist

   any of the unicellular protists

   protist, protistan

   free-living or colonial organisms with diverse nutritional and reproductive modes

   microflora

   microscopic plants; bacteria are often considered to be microflora

   arborvirus, arbovirus

   a large heterogeneous group of RNA viruses divisible into groups on the basis of the virions; they have been recovered from arthropods, bats, and rodents; most are borne by arthropods; they are linked by the epidemiologic concept of transmission between vertebrate hosts by arthropod vectors (mosquitoes, ticks, sandflies, midges, etc.) that feed on blood; they can cause mild fevers, hepatitis, hemorrhagic fever, and encephalitis

   bacteriophage, phage

   a virus that is parasitic (reproduces itself) in bacteria

   plant virus

   a plant pathogen that is a virus consisting of a single strand of RNA

   animal virus

   an animal pathogen that is a virus

   slow virus

   a virus that remains dormant in the body for a long time before symptoms appear

   archaebacteria, archaebacterium, archaeobacteria, archeobacteria

   considered ancient life forms that evolved separately from bacteria and blue-green algae

   acidophil, acidophile

   an organism that thrives in a relatively acid environment

   probiotic, probiotic bacterium, probiotic flora, probiotic microflora

   a beneficial bacterium found in the intestinal tract of healthy mammals; often considered to be a plant

   bacteroid

   a rodlike bacterium (especially any of the rod-shaped or branched bacteria in the root nodules of nitrogen-fixing plants)

   eubacteria, eubacterium, true bacteria

   a large group of bacteria having rigid cell walls; motile types have flagella

   Calymmatobacterium, genus Calymmatobacterium

   a genus of bacterial rods containing only the one species that causes granuloma inguinale

   Francisella, genus Francisella

   a genus of Gram-negative aerobic bacteria that occur as pathogens and parasite in many animals (including humans)

   Neisseria gonorrhoeae, gonococcus

   the pus-producing bacterium that causes gonorrhea

   tumor virus

   a cell-free filtrate held to be a virus responsible for a specific neoplasm

   vector

   (genetics) a virus or other agent that is used to deliver DNA to a cell

   Legionella pneumophilia, legionella

   the motile aerobic rod-shaped Gram-negative bacterium that thrives in central heating and air conditioning systems and can cause Legionnaires' disease

   nitrobacterium

   any of the bacteria in the soil that take part in the nitrogen cycle; they oxidize ammonium compounds into nitrites or oxidize nitrites into nitrates

   penicillin-resistant bacteria

   bacteria that are unaffected by penicillin

   pus-forming bacteria

   bacteria that produce pus

   rod

   any rod-shaped bacterium

   diplococcus

   Gram-positive bacteria usually occurring in pairs

   protozoan, protozoon

   any of diverse minute acellular or unicellular organisms usually nonphotosynthetic

   alga, algae

   primitive chlorophyll-containing mainly aquatic eukaryotic organisms lacking true stems and roots and leaves

   superbug

   a strain of bacteria that is resistant to all antibiotics

   type of:

   being, organism

   a living thing that has (or can develop) the ability to act or function independently