Microcosm definition

mīkrə-kŏzəm
microcosms
See word origin
Frequency:
A little world; miniature universe.
  • (historical) The concept that a human being is an epitome of the world.
  • A community regarded as a miniature or epitome of the world.
  • Anything regarded as epitomizing, encapsulating, or representing in miniature.
noun
15
6
A small, representative system having analogies to a larger system in constitution, configuration, or development.
noun
10
2
(ecol.) A small ecosystem, as a pond.
noun
6
2
Human nature or the human body as representative of the wider universe; man considered as a miniature counterpart of divine or universal nature. [from 15th c.]
noun
1
0
The definition of a microcosm is a small subset of a whole that is generally considered to be representative of the whole.

An example of a microcosm is a small sect of the population which is surveyed in order to get an idea of the opinions of the general population.

noun
1
1
Advertisement
A smaller system which is seen as representative of a larger one. [from 17th c.]
noun
0
0
(ecology) A small natural ecosystem; an artificial ecosystem set up as an experimental model. [from 19th c.]
noun
0
0

Other Word Forms

Noun

Singular:
microcosm
Plural:
microcosms

Origin of microcosm

  • Middle English microcosme man as a little world from Old French from Late Latin mīcrocosmus from Greek mīkros kosmos mīkros small kosmos world, order

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • From French microcosme, from Latin microcosmus, from Ancient Greek μικρός (mikrós, “small") + κόσμος (kosmos, “world").

    From Wiktionary

Microcosm Sentence Examples

  • The conception of man, the microcosm, containing in himself all the parts of the universe or macrocosm, is also Babylonian, as again probably is the famous identification of the metals with the planets.

  • The Web has become a microcosm of our society.

  • The human body was a "microcosm" which corresponded to the "macrocosm," and contained in itself all parts of visible nature, - sun, moon, stars and the poles of heaven.

  • The alternative is developing a Microcosm viewer for that media type.

  • Here was an orator who could apply all the resources of a burnished rhetoric to the elucidation of figures; who could sweep the widest horizon of the financial future, and yet stoop to bestow the minutest attention on the microcosm of penny stamps and post-horses.

More sentences

Related articles

Also Mentioned In

Words near microcosm in the Dictionary