micro
micro — noun
1. a short, informal way of saying 'microcomputer' — a small personal computer buil
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
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
Eli learned to write code on a micro that had only sixty-four kilobytes of memory.
A vintage micro from the early 1980s can still fetch a good price at auction.
The journalism class used a single micro to typeset the entire school newspaper.
- personal computer
the standard modern term for a general-purpose computer for one user
- desktop computer
a PC designed to sit on a desk, not a laptop
- home computer
especially common in the 1980s for computers used in households
- mainframe
a very large, powerful computer used by big organisations, not by individuals
用法筆記
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.
常見錯誤
micro — adjective
1. extremely small in size, amount, or scale — used to describe objects, spaces, bu
extremely small in size, amount, or scale — used to describe objects, spaces, businesses, or loans that are much smaller than the usual version
Christopher bought a micro apartment with space for just a bed and a small table.
collocation: micro apartment
The bank offers micro loans of as little as fifty dollars to street vendors.
collocation: micro loan
Élise started a micro business selling handmade soap to neighbours and friends.
The artist painted a micro landscape on a tile no bigger than a postage stamp.
Tendai runs a micro farm on his apartment balcony with herbs, chillies, and tomatoes.
用法筆記
As a standalone adjective, 'micro' is more informal and trend-driven than the prefix 'micro-'. It often appears in modern compound-like phrases such as 'micro apartment', 'micro loan', or 'micro business' to suggest a scaled-down version of something.