Meanings
macro1
- not comparableVery large in scale or scope.
But simply turning off iCloud backups was an incomplete solution. The macro problem, I wrote in my column last year, is that people have sacrificed ownership and control of their data.
2022 November 2, Brian X. Chen, “Personal Tech Has Changed. So Must Our Coverage of It.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 12 Jan 20231 more example
Crumb's sexual fixation on gigantic women's legs became a major feature of his most celebrated images. Despite the common themes among macrophiles, Ed Lundt believes that no two macro fantasies are quite alike […]
1999, Katharine Gates, Deviant Desires: Incredibly Strange Sex, page 115Antonyms: micro
- abbreviationclippingcolloquialnot comparablecookingClipping of macrobiotic.
While there are many aspects to this way of living, the actual “diet” focuses on whole foods, consumed in traditional methods. A typical macro bowl includes grains, beans, steamed veggies, sea vegetables, and fermented foods.
2015, Elizabeth Stein, Eating Purely
plural macros · plural macroes
- abbreviationclippingcolloquialuncountableeconomicsClipping of macroeconomics.
On Monday, chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA) cut its sales outlook for the fourth quarter, citing “deteriorating macroeconomic conditions, particularly in China.” Last week, Intel’s (INTC) CEO also noted that “trade and macro concerns, especially in China, have intensified.”
2019 January 28, Seth Fiegerman, “Apple earnings: How low can iPhone sales go?”, in CNN Business, archived from the original on 31 May 2019 - abbreviationclippingslanguncountablegamesClipping of macromanagement.
- abbreviationclippingcolloquialcountablein pluralnutritionClipping of macronutrient.
Don't be afraid to include some “unhealthy” foods in your diet. The overarching rule about foods is if it fits your macros (IIFYM), then you can eat it. That means you can eat chocolate, ice cream, and many other indulgences […]
2018, Spencer Langley, Flex Life: How to Transform Your Body Forever, Flex Life Inc., →ISBN, page 81 - abbreviationclippingcolloquialcountableClipping of macrophile.
- abbreviationclippingcolloquialuncountableClipping of macrophilia.
- alsoattributivecolloquialcountableIn the context of macrophilia, one who is abnormally very large.
- abbreviationcolloquialcountableellipsisartsEllipsis of macro lens.
Most macros are made by camera manufacturers to fit their cameras
1980, Popular Science, volume 217, number 6, page 941 more example
The lens was a macro, capable of everything from an “infinity shot” to a close-up in which a single fingerprint filled the entire frame.
2008, Richard Satterlie, Agnes Hahn
present singular third person macros · present singular third person macroes · participle present macroing · participle present macro'ing · participle past macroed · past macroed · participle past macrod · past macrod · participle past macro'ed · past macro'ed · participle past macro'd · past macro'd
- abbreviationambitransitiveclippingslanggamesClipping of macromanage.
macro2
plural macros · plural macroes
- attributiveoftencomputingA comparatively human-friendly abbreviation of complex input to a computer program.
The preprocessor expands any embedded macros into source code before it is compiled.
4 more examples
There's also a spam filter in the code now, so if someone attempts to flood people's screens with macros or a bot, everything after the first few lines is thrown away.
1998, Dr. Cat, “Furry web site plug”, in alt.fan.furry (Usenet)A recurring theme in this book is to record an Excel macro and then show how to adapt the recorded code.
2004, Paul Kimmel, Excel 2003 VBA Programmer's Reference, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 2Languages belonging to the Lisp family make use of macros to provide support for compile-time metaprogramming.
2010, Debasish Ghosh, DSLs in Action, Simon and Schuster, →ISBNThis should make intuitive sense because the purpose of the macro system is to transform code from one valid form to a final form, such as inserting logic automatically that would otherwise have been written explicitly.
2021, Dean Wampler, chapter 24, in Programming Scala, 3rd edition, O'Reilly, →ISBN
present singular third person macros · present singular third person macroes · participle present macroing · participle present macro'ing · participle past macroed · past macroed · participle past macrod · past macrod · participle past macro'ed · past macro'ed · participle past macro'd · past macro'd
- informalintransitivecomputingTo use a macro.
Ok, i have to admit i macroed for 3 lvls to get my magic defence sorted :(
2000 December 2, Rich, “dag-nabit makes yet another confession”, in microsoft.public.games.zone.asherons_call (Usenet), archived from the original on 05 Dec 20252 more examples
After i got ressirected^([sic]) the stat loss hit me hard, i macroed for a few days, sparred with some friends, and my skills were soon back up.
1998 July 20, d cundiff, “GMs....”, in alt.games.ultima-online (Usenet), archived from the original on 05 Dec 2025Do this poison thing gradually increasing potency until you hit about 78 then macro on a ghost to GM
1999 March 16, Andrew Blackwell, “Help : Healing”, in rec.games.computer.ultima.online (Usenet), archived from the original on 05 Dec 2025 - informaltransitivecomputingTo use a macro on (something).
Same here, macroed my really gimp CH, none of the others.
2003 December 9, Graeme Faelban, “How I cast spells with my cleric”, in alt.games.everquest (Usenet), archived from the original on 05 Dec 20252 more examples
He said he macroed anatomy from 0 to about 80 and his healing went from the 52 he started with to 58.2.
1999 March 16, Andrew Blackwell, “Help : Healing”, in rec.games.computer.ultima.online (Usenet), archived from the original on 05 Dec 2025For that matter, you can do something by killing the character being macroed. :) It IS Darktide after all.
2001 January 15, Peter Duniho, “Some really lame things go on in this game”, in microsoft.public.games.zone.asherons_call (Usenet), archived from the original on 05 Dec 2025
Macro3
- A surname.
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveVery large in scale or scope.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna single computer instruction that results in a series of instructions in machine language
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
macro · adjective, noun, verb
- Proto-Indo-European*meh₂ḱ-
- Proto-Indo-European*mh₂ḱrós
- Proto-Hellenic*makrós
- Ancient Greekμᾰκρός (măkrós)
- Frenchmacro-
- Englishmacro-
- Englishmacro
From macro-, from French, from Latin, ulimately from Ancient Greek μακρός (makrós, “long”).
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →macro · noun, verb
- Proto-Indo-European*meh₂ḱ-
- Proto-Indo-European*mh₂ḱrós
- Proto-Hellenic*makrós
- Ancient Greekμᾰκρός (măkrós)
- Frenchmacro-
- Englishmacro-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁én
- Proto-Italic*en
- Proto-Italic*en-
- Latinin-
- Proto-Indo-European*ster-
- Proto-Indo-European*sterh₃-
- Proto-Indo-European*strew-
- Proto-Indo-European*stréweti
- Proto-Italic*strowō
- Latinstruō
- Latinīnstruō
- Latinīnstrūctiō
- Old Frenchinstruccion
- Middle Englishinstruccioun
- Englishinstruction
- Englishmacroinstructionclip.
- Englishmacro
Clipping of macroinstruction. First attested in 1959.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 宏, 宏
- 宏 (hóng)very large in scale
- 宏 (hóng)abbreviation of complicated input
- 巨集 (jùjí)abbreviation of complicated input
Czech makro
- makroabbreviation of complicated input
Danish makro
- makroabbreviation of complicated input
Finnish makro
- makroabbreviation of complicated input
French macro, macro-commande
- macroabbreviation of complicated input
- macro-commandeabbreviation of complicated input
German Makro
- Makroabbreviation of complicated input
Greek μακροεντολή
- μακροεντολή (makroentolí)abbreviation of complicated input
Hebrew מאקרו
- מאקרו (mákro)abbreviation of complicated input
Hungarian makró
- makróabbreviation of complicated input
Icelandic fjölvaskipun, fjölvi
- fjölvaskipunabbreviation of complicated input
- fjölviabbreviation of complicated input
Japanese マクロ
- マクロ (makuro)abbreviation of complicated input
Korean 매크로
- 매크로 (maekeuro)abbreviation of complicated input
Māori tonotono
- tonotonoabbreviation of complicated input
Norwegian Bokmål makro
- makroabbreviation of complicated input
Portuguese macro
- macroabbreviation of complicated input
Russian ма́крос, макрокома́нда
- ма́крос (mákros)abbreviation of complicated input
- макрокома́нда (makrokománda)abbreviation of complicated input
Spanish macro
- macroabbreviation of complicated input
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
macro. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/macro
“macro.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/macro. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “macro,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/macro.
Source: macro on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.