Standard Lemma guide

micro-

prefix · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • mī′krə-
  • mī′krō-
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈmaɪ.kɹə-/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈmaɪ.kɹəʊ-/
  • Canada, General-American: /ˈmaɪ.kɹə-/
  • Canada, General-American: [ˈmʌɪ̯.kɹə-] Canadian raising
  • Canada, General-American: /ˈmaɪ.kɹoʊ-/
  • Canada, General-American: [ˈmʌɪ̯.kɹoʊ-] Canadian raising
  • California: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australian: /ˈmɑe.kɹə-/
  • Australian: /ˈmɑe.kɹəʉ-/
  • mī-krŏ′-
  • Received-Pronunciation: /maɪˈkɹɒ-/
  • Atlantic-Canada, General-American: /maɪˈkɹɑ-/
  • Canada, dialectal: /maɪˈkɹɒ-/ of the US
  • Australian: /mɑeˈkɹɔ-/

1

prefix

Meaning 1

Very small.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: diminutive, morpheme

Examples

  • Near-synonyms: (prefixes) mini-, nano- (loose sense); (suffixes) -cule, -ee, -el, -et, -ette, -icle, -ie, -kin, -le, -let, -ling, -ole, -ule, -y
  • micro- + organism → microorganism

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: mini-, nano-[Appendix:Glossary, -cule, -ee, -el, -et, -ette, -icle, -ie, -kin, -le, -let, -ling, -ole, -ule, -y

Antonyms: none provided

2

prefix

Meaning 2

One millionth.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: morpheme

Qualifier: metric units

Examples

  • micro- + gram → microgram

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

prefix

Meaning 3

Pertaining to an aspect of micronationalism; micronational.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: morpheme

Examples

  • micro- + wiki → MicroWiki

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *mey-der.? Ancient Greek μῑκρός (mīkrós) Ancient Greek μῑκρο- (mīkro-)lbor. English micro- Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek μῑκρο- (mīkro-), from μῑκρός (mīkrós, “small”). By surface analysis, micr- + -o-.

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *mey-der.? Ancient Greek μῑκρός (mīkrós) Ancient Greek μῑκρο- (mīkro-)lbor. English micro- Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh1- Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh1tisder. Proto-Italic *gnātiō Latin nātiōbor. Old French nacionbor. Middle English nacioun English nation English micronationclip. English micro- Clipping of micronation.

Across languages

Translations

67 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: mikro- — very small
  • Armenian: միկրո- (mikro-) — very small
  • Belarusian: мікра- (mikra-) — very small
  • Bulgarian: микро- (mikro-) — very small
  • Catalan: micro- — very small
  • Chinese Mandarin: 微- (wēi-) — very small
  • Czech: mikro- — very small
  • Dutch: micro- — very small
  • Esperanto: mikro- — very small
  • Finnish: mikro- — very small
  • French: micro- — very small
  • Galician: micro- — very small
  • Georgian: მიკრო- (miḳro-) — very small
  • German: mikro- — very small
  • Greek: μικρο- (mikro-) — very small
  • Ancient Greek: μικρο- (mikro-) — very small
  • Hebrew: מיקרו־ (míkro-) — very small
  • Hebrew: מיקרו (míkro) — very small
  • Hungarian: mikro- — very small
  • Irish: micri- — very small
  • Italian: micro- — very small
  • Japanese: マイクロ- (maikuro-) — very small
  • Malay: mikro- — very small
  • Occitan: micro- — very small
  • Polish: mikro- — very small
  • Portuguese: micro- — very small
  • Russian: микро- (mikro-) — very small
  • Slovene: mikro- — very small
  • Spanish: micro- — very small
  • Swedish: mikro- — very small
  • Translingual: micro- — very small
  • Turkish: mikro- — very small
  • Afrikaans: mikro- — millionth
  • Armenian: միկրո- (mikro-) — millionth
  • Belarusian: мікра- (mikra-) — millionth
  • Bulgarian: микро- (mikro-) — millionth
  • Catalan: micro- — millionth
  • Chinese Mandarin: 微- (wēi-) — millionth
  • Czech: mikro- — millionth
  • Dutch: micro- — millionth
  • Esperanto: mikro- — millionth
  • Finnish: mikro- — millionth
  • French: micro- — millionth
  • Galician: micro- — millionth
  • Georgian: მიკრო- (miḳro-) — millionth
  • German: mikro- — millionth
  • Greek: μικρο- (mikro-) — millionth
  • Hebrew: מיקרו־ (míkro-) — millionth
  • Hebrew: מיקרו (míkro) — millionth
  • Hungarian: mikro- — millionth
  • Icelandic: míkró- — millionth
  • Indonesian: mikro- — millionth
  • Italian: micro- — millionth
  • Japanese: マイクロ (maikuro) — millionth
  • Malay: mikro- — millionth
  • Occitan: micro- — millionth
  • Polish: mikro- — millionth
  • Portuguese: micro- — millionth
  • Russian: микро- (mikro-) — millionth
  • Slovene: mikro- — millionth
  • Spanish: micro- — millionth
  • Swedish: mikro- — millionth
  • Tagalog: mik- — millionth
  • Translingual: micro- — millionth
  • Translingual: μ- — millionth
  • Turkish: mikro- — millionth
  • Vietnamese: mi-crô — millionth