macro

adjective

1. very large in scale, scope, or capability.
2. of or relating to macroeconomics.

noun, plural mac·ros.

3. anything very large in scale, scope, or capability.
4. Photography. a macro lens.
5. Also called macroinstruction. Computers. an instruction that represents a sequence of instructions in abbreviated form.
6. macroeconomics.

1. a combining form meaning “large,” “long,” “great,” “excessive,” used in the formation of compound words, contrasting with micro-: macrocosm; macrofossil; macrograph; macroscopic.

noun plural macros

1. a macro lens
2. Also: macro instruction a single computer instruction that initiates a set of instructions to perform a specific task

combining form

1. large, long, or great in size or durationmacroscopic
2. (in pathology) indicating abnormal enlargement or overdevelopmentmacrocyte Compare micro- (def. 5)
3. producing larger than life imagesmacrophotography

n.1959 in computing sense, shortened from macro-instruction. word-forming element meaning “long, abnormally large, on a large scale,” taken into English via Middle French and Medieval Latin from Greek makros “long, large,” from PIE root *mak- “long, thin” (cf. Latin macer “lean, thin;” Old Norse magr, Old English mæger “lean, thin;” Greek mekos “length”). pref.

1. Large:macronucleus.
2. Long:macrobiotic.
3. Inclusive:macroamylase.

1. A prefix meaning “large,” as in macromolecule, a large molecule.