- a microscopic animal such as an amoeba or rotifer
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
an•i•mal•cu•lum
(an′ə mal′kyə ləm),USA pronunciation n., pl. -la (-lə).USA pronunciation
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026- Microbiologyanimalcule.
- 1670–80
an•i•mal•cule /ˌænəˈmælkyul/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Microbiologya microscopically small organism.
an•i•mal•cule
(an′ə mal′kyo̅o̅l),USA pronunciation n.
an•i•mal•cu•lar
(an′ə mal′kyə lər),USA pronunciation an•i•mal•cu•line
(an′ə mal′kyə lin),USA pronunciation an′i•mal′cu•lous, adj.
- Microbiologya minute or microscopic animal, nearly or quite invisible to the naked eye, as an infusorian or rotifer.
- [Archaic.]a tiny animal, as a mouse or fly.
- Neo-Latin animalculum a small animal. See animal, -cule1
- 1590–1600;
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
animalcule /ˌænɪˈmælkjuːl/, animalculum /ˌænɪˈmælkjʊləm/ n ( pl -cules, -cula /-kjʊlə/)
'animalculum' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):