micro

micro — noun

1. a short, informal way of saying 'microcomputer' — a small personal computer buil

1.nounB2
Definition

a short, informal way of saying 'microcomputer' — a small personal computer built around a single microchip, especially common in homes and schools during the 1980s and 1990s

Example

Heather found an old micro in her uncle's attic and tried to turn it on.

informal countable noun, often modified by 'old' or 'vintage'

The computer club bought ten used micros for their weekend programming workshop.

plural form: micros

Common collocations
  • vintage micro
  • old micro
  • used micro
  • home micro
  • micro with a green screen
Synonyms
Antonyms
  • mainframe

    a very large, powerful computer used by big organisations, not by individuals

Usage Note

This term was most common in the 1980s and 1990s. Today, most English speakers simply say 'computer' or 'PC' instead of 'micro'. You may still hear it in retro-computing circles or in historical writing.

Common Mistakes

I use a micro to check my email every morning.
I use a computer to check my email every morning.
'micro' sounds dated in everyday conversation about modern devices.

micro — adjective

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four words describe something very small, but they differ in use. 'Tiny' is the most common and neutral — you can use it for anything small: a tiny house, a tiny insect, a tiny chance. 'Miniature' describes a scaled-down copy of something normally larger, like a miniature train set or a miniature version of a painting. 'Minuscule' is more formal and emphasises that something is so small it is almost negligible — a minuscule amount of salt, a minuscule difference. 'Microscopic' is the most extreme: it means too small to see without a microscope. For example, 'The apartment was tiny by most standards' sounds natural; 'The apartment was microscopic by most standards' sounds humorous or exaggerated.

tiny ↗miniature ↗minusculemicroscopic

Common collocations

Nouns

Etymology

GreekLatinFrenchEnglish

From the Greek word 'mikros' (μικρός), meaning 'small'. It entered scientific English in the 1800s as a prefix for measurement units (microscope, microbe, microsecond) and later became a standalone adjective and noun in the late 20th century, especially with the rise of personal computing.