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# germ

«germ» in Mova's school dictionary: **A very tiny living thing, too small to see, that can make…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (germ, germs)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A very tiny living thing, too small to see, that can make people or animals ill. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/germ/#m1)

2) The very beginning of something that grows: "the germ of an idea". [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/germ/#m2)

3) The part of a seed that grows into a plant (wheat germ). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/germ/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In science and health, germs (bacteria and viruses) spread through coughs, sneezes, dirty hands and food; our body fights them; vaccines help. In everyday life: wash hands with soap for 20 seconds, cover coughs, don't share drinks when ill. Phrases: spread germs, kill germs, germ-free.

### examples

- Wash your hands to get rid of germs. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/germ/#x1)
- Germs are too small to see. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/germ/#x2)
- Sneeze into your elbow so germs don't spread. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/germ/#x3)
- Some germs make you sick. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/germ/#x4)
- Soap kills many germs. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/germ/#x5)
- Germs can live on door handles. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/germ/#x6)
- Cook meat well to kill germs. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/germ/#x7)
- That was the germ of a great idea. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/germ/#x8)
- "Why, it's a mass of scarlet fever germs!-Burn it at once. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/germ/#x9)

### note

Germs can't be seen without a microscope. Not all tiny living things are harmful; some bacteria help us. Antibiotics work on bacteria, not on viruses like a cold.

### In the corpora

- [Some people go to work ill because they can't afford to lose the pay, which spreads germs to everyone else.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/2-shifts-nights-and-other-ways-of-working/12/)
- [Red blood cells carry oxygen using iron-rich haemoglobin, white cells fight germs, and platelets help stop bleeding.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/65-the-heart-and-blood/9/)
- [The nose warms and moistens air, and its hairs and sticky mucus catch dust and germs before they reach the lungs.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/66-lungs-and-breathing/12/)
- [People once thought germs in the Komodo dragon's mouth killed its prey, but scientists found it has venom glands in its jaw.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/181-strange-islands-komodo-dragons-the-dodo-red-crabs-kakapos-giants-and-dwarfs/5/)
- [Honey hardly ever goes off, because it is so sugary and dry that germs cannot grow in it.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/218-bees-and-wasps-in-the-garden/16/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «germ» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/germ/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.