Designed to kill or prevent the growth of harmful microorganisms like bacteria, viruses, and fungi.
From anti- (against) + microbial (from micro- 'small' + bios 'life'). Emerged in the early 20th century as germ theory became established.
Antibiotics are antimicrobial, but so is salt—humans have been using salt as an antimicrobial food preservative for thousands of years, before we even knew microbes existed!
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