- [countable, usually plural]
a very small living thing that can cause infection and disease 微生物；细菌；病菌 Extra ExamplesTopics Biologyb2, Illnessb2Cracks and scratches in work surfaces can harbour germs. 操作台的裂缝和刮痕都会藏着细菌。 The epidemic was caused by a particularly virulent flu germ. 这一流行病是由一种致病力强的流感病毒引起的。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- deadly
- drug-resistant
- resistant
- …
- carry
- spread
- destroy
- …
- warfare
- [singular] germ of something
an early stage of the development of something 起源；发端；萌芽 Here was the germ of a brilliant idea. 一个绝妙的主意就是从这里萌发的。 The germ of the town was a single house near the river. 这个城镇的雏形是河边的一所独栋房子。
- [countable] (
biology 生物 the part of a plant or an animal that can develop into a new one 胚芽；胚原基；芽孢；胚胎 The germ is the embryo of the new plant. 胚芽是新植物的胚胎。
Word Originlate Middle English (in sense (3)): via Old French from Latin germen ‘seed, sprout’. Sense (1) dates from the late 19th cent.