Macrocosm

//ˈmæk.ɹəˌkɑz.əm// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A complex structure, such as a society, considered as a single entity that contains numerous similar, smaller-scale structures.
  2. 2
    everything that exists anywhere wordnet
  3. 3
    The universe.

Example

More examples

"Some people base reality in their local sphere. Maybe, most people do not travel enough, I mention to Bratislav. A bit aghast becomes Bratislav, of Croatian ancestry. I tell him about the Daoist notion that one's own garden or local neighbourhood may be a microcosm that reflects macrocosmic reality. All the learning from all the travelling one can do may lie right here locally. A snail on the sidewalk may have a "doppelganger" (Bratislav's conceptual word) in the macrocosm."

Etymology

From Middle French macrocosme (from Old French macrocosme) and Medieval Latin macrocosmus, formed from Ancient Greek μακρός (makrós, “great, long”) + κόσμος (kósmos, “universe, order”).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.