Meaning
germ
- a microorganism causing disease, germ
- an embryo or beginning of a plant or idea
In a sentence
È importante lavarsi bene le mani per eliminare ogni germe.
It is important to wash one's hands thoroughly to eliminate every germ.
Quel fallimento conteneva già il germe di un'idea rivoluzionaria.
That failure already contained the seed of a revolutionary idea.
Il sapone antibatterico non uccide tutti i germi presenti sulla pelle.
Antibacterial soap doesn't kill all germs present on the skin.
Word forms (2)
| Word | Word forms |
|---|---|
| germe | masculine · singular |
| germi | masculine · plural |
Usage notes
- Masculine noun; plural is 'germi'.
- Often used in figurative contexts, e.g., 'il germe del dubbio' (the seed of doubt).