germ

/dʒɜːm/ (bre, ipa) · /dʒɜːrm/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈjərm/ (ame, mw)

germ — noun

  • germsingular
  • germsplural

1. one of the tiny organisms, like bacteria or viruses, that can get into a living

1.名詞B1
釋義

one of the tiny organisms, like bacteria or viruses, that can get into a living body and cause illness or infection.

例句

Harper always washes her hands thoroughly after gardening to kill any germs.

collocation: kill germs / spread germs

The nurse explained that harmful germs can enter the body through a tiny cut on the skin.

同義詞
  • microbe

    more technical/scientific term for any microscopic organism, including non-disease-causing ones

  • bacterium

    specific type of germ; a single-celled organism, not a virus

  • virus

    specific type of germ; smaller than bacteria, needs a host cell to multiply

  • bug

    informal, very common in everyday English ('I caught a bug')

用法筆記

Usually appears in the plural form 'germs'. The singular is rare in everyday speech about illness — 'a germ' sounds more like a biology-class example than something a doctor would say.

常見錯誤

❌I caught a germ from my classmate.
✅I caught a bug from my classmate.' or 'Germs spread easily at school.
💡'germ' is rare in singular form when talking about catching an illness; use 'bug' or rephrase with plural 'germs.'

2. the very first small sign or early stage of an idea, feeling, or quality that la

2.名詞C1
釋義

the very first small sign or early stage of an idea, feeling, or quality that later develops into something bigger or more important.

例句

A brief chat with an elderly woman on a bus planted the germ of her novel.

fixed phrase: germ of an idea

Lucía spotted the germ of a good business plan scribbled in her brother's notebook.

同義詞
  • seed

    more common and slightly more versatile ('the seeds of change'), interchangeable in many contexts

  • origin

    broader; can refer to any starting point, not just an early, undeveloped one

  • embryo

    more formal/technical, often used in academic writing ('the embryo of a theory')

反義詞

文法句型

the germ of [something]

用法筆記

Always used in the singular with 'of': 'the germ of an idea / a plan / doubt / truth'. The noun following 'germ of' must be abstract — never use it with concrete objects.

常見錯誤

❌The germ of my new house was a small sketch.
✅The germ of my idea for a new house was a small sketch.
💡'germ of' must be followed by an abstract noun (idea, plan, doubt), not a concrete noun.

3. a small living structure inside a plant or animal — such as a seed's embryo or a

3.名詞C1
釋義

a small living structure inside a plant or animal — such as a seed's embryo or a reproductive cell — that is capable of growing into a new organism or developing into a specific body part.

例句

Wheat germ, the nutrient-rich heart of the wheat seed, is often sprinkled onto breakfast cereal for extra vitamins.

compound noun: wheat germ

Baraka examined how germ cells divide and multiply during the earliest stages of an embryo's development.

term: germ cells

同義詞
  • embryo

    more specific term for the early developmental stage of an animal; 'germ' is broader and also used for plants

  • seed

    refers to the whole reproductive unit of a plant; 'germ' is the part inside the seed that grows

  • bud

    used for new growth on plants; less technical than 'germ'

用法筆記

This is the original biological sense from which the other meanings of 'germ' developed. In modern biology, it appears in compound terms like 'wheat germ', 'germ cell', 'germ layer', and 'germ line'. Unlike sense 1, it does NOT refer to disease or illness.

常見錯誤

❌Wheat virus is good for your health.
✅Wheat germ is good for your health.
💡'germ' in 'wheat germ' refers to the seed's embryo, not a disease-causing organism. Do not confuse with 'virus' or 'bacterium.'