Definition of "germ" in English

noun

1. (biology) The small mass of cells from which a new organism develops; a seed, bud, spore, or zygote.

2. A pathogen: a pathogenic microorganism, such as a bacterium or virus.

3. (figurative) The origin or earliest version of an idea or project.

   • the germ of civil liberty

4. (mathematics) An equivalence class that includes a specified function defined in an open neighborhood.

verb

1. To germinate.

2. (slang) To grow, as if parasitic.