Meanings
nounmicrobial clock (plural microbial clocks)
plural microbial clocks
- forensic science; forensic biology; forensic science; forensic biologyThe predictable, time-dependent succession of microbial communities during the postmortem decomposition of a body, used to estimate the postmortem interval.
Origin
Coined by the microbial ecologist and evolutionary biologist Jessica Metcalf c. 2010.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
microbial clock. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/microbial%20clock
MLA
“microbial clock.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/microbial%20clock. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “microbial clock,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/microbial%20clock.
Source: microbial clock on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.