micro- en · X · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- /maɪˈkɹɒ-/ (Canada, dialectal) of the US
- /ˈmaɪ.kɹəʊ-/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /mɑeˈkɹɔ-/ (Australia)
- (California) audio
- [ˈmʌɪ̯.kɹoʊ-] (Canada, General-American) Canadian raising
- mī′krō-
- [ˈmʌɪ̯.kɹə-] (Canada, General-American) Canadian raising
- mī′krə-
- /ˈmaɪ.kɹə-/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈmɑe.kɹə-/ (Australia)
- mī-krŏ′-
- /maɪˈkɹɒ-/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈmaɪ.kɹoʊ-/ (Canada, General-American)
- /ˈmaɪ.kɹə-/ (Canada, General-American)
- /maɪˈkɹɑ-/ (Atlantic-Canada, General-American)
- /ˈmɑe.kɹəʉ-/ (Australia)
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-.
Meanings
-
(diminutive, morpheme) Very small.
micro- + organism → microorganism
Gen Z is using micro-retirement to avoid burnout, find greater fulfillment in their work, and enhance their overall well-being. However, it’s not just Gen-Z: According to a survey from Side Hustles, 10% of workers are considering taking a micro-retirement and 75% thought employers should offer micro-retirement policies such as unpaid sabbaticals.
2025 July 1, Kimanzi Constable, “What is a micro-retirement? Inside the latest Gen Z trend”, in Fast Company, archived from the original on 09 Jul 2025:Near-synonyms: (prefixes) mini-, nano- (loose sense); (suffixes) -cule, -ee, -el, -et, -ette, -icle, -ie, -kin, -le, -let, -ling, -ole, -ule, -y
-
(morpheme, qualifier:metric units) One millionth.
micro- + gram → microgram
Antonyms
macro- (antonym(s) of “diminutive”) · great (antonym(s) of “diminutive”) · mega- (antonym(s) of “diminutive”) · ultra- (antonym(s) of “diminutive”) · supra- (antonym(s) of “diminutive”) · hyper- (antonym(s) of “diminutive”) · super- (antonym(s) of “diminutive”) · over- (antonym(s) of “diminutive”) · -zilla (antonym(s) of “diminutive”) · giga- (antonym(s) of “diminutive”) · arch- (antonym(s) of “diminutive”) · grand (antonym(s) of “diminutive”) · uber- (antonym(s) of “diminutive”)
Deriveds
microlateral · micronormal · microinverse
Synonyms
-y · -ole · -ee · -y · -ee · -et · nano- · -ule · -ule · -cule · -ole · -le · -ette · -cule · -el · mini- · nano-[Appendix:Glossary · -kin · -ie · -icle · -icle · mini- · -let · -ling · -ette
Translations (67)
el μικρο- (millionth) · he מיקרו־ (millionth) · sv mikro- (millionth) · ru микро- (millionth) · he מיקרו־ (very small) · it micro- (millionth) · mul μ- (millionth) · be мікра- (millionth) · de mikro- (millionth) · es micro- (very small) · mul micro- (very small) · eo mikro- (millionth) · mul micro- (millionth) · cs mikro- (millionth) · tl mik- (millionth) · hy միկրո- (millionth) · pl mikro- (millionth) · fi mikro- (very small) · ka მიკრო- (very small) · is míkró- (millionth) · ms mikro- (very small) · hu mikro- (millionth) · fi mikro- (millionth) · it micro- (very small) · ka მიკრო- (millionth) · bg микро- (very small) · sl mikro- (very small) · vi mi-crô (millionth) · bg микро- (millionth) · pt micro- (millionth) · pl mikro- (very small) · eo mikro- (very small) · he מיקרו (very small) · ja マイクロ (millionth) · ca micro- (very small) · hy միկրո- (very small) · id mikro- (millionth) · el μικρο- (very small) · ru микро- (very small) · be мікра- (very small) · nl micro- (millionth) · oc micro- (very small) · af mikro- (very small) · cs mikro- (very small) · grc μικρο- (very small) · fr micro- (millionth) · tr mikro- (very small) · es micro- (millionth) · cmn 微- (very small) · ca micro- (millionth) · pt micro- (very small) · gl micro- (millionth) · de mikro- (very small) · fr micro- (very small) · he מיקרו (millionth) · ms mikro- (millionth) · sv mikro- (very small) · ja マイクロ- (very small) · sl mikro- (millionth) · oc micro- (millionth) · tr mikro- (millionth) · af mikro- (millionth) · gl micro- (very small) · ga micri- (very small) · nl micro- (very small) · cmn 微- (millionth) · hu mikro- (very small)