to inject (a substance, esp a single living cell) using a microscope
microinject in American English
(ˌmaikrouɪnˈdʒekt)
transitive verb
Biology
to inject into a single cell or cell part
Word origin
[1975–80; micro- + inject]This word is first recorded in the period 1975–80. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: family therapy, gridlock, hybridoma, surrogate mother, videotexmicro- is a combining form with the meanings “small” (microcosm; microgamete), “very small in comparison with others of its kind” (microcomputer; microlith), “too small to be seen by the unaided eye” (microfossil; microorganism), “dealing with extremely minute organisms, organic structures, or quantities ofa substance” (microdissection; microscope), “localized, restricted in scope or area” (microburst; microhabitat), “(of a discipline) focusing on a restricted area” (microeconomics), “containing or dealing with texts that require enlargement to be read” (microfilm; microreader), “one millionth” (microgram)