granule

/ˌgrænˈjul/

Other forms: granules

A teeny, tiny particle of something is a granule. If ants love to invade your kitchen, you'll need to carefully clean up every last granule of the sugar you spilled on the floor.

In geology, a granule is actually a specific, measurable amount. It's between two and four millimeters — larger than a grain of sand, but smaller than a pebble. In everyday use, a granule is just a very small piece of something. If your little brother is especially sensitive, he may insist on periodically stopping during a hike to empty granules of gravel out of his sneakers. Granule comes from the Late Latin granulum, "small grain."

Definitions of granule

1. noun

   a tiny grain
   types:

   microsome

   a tiny granule in the cytoplasm that is where protein synthesis takes place under the direction of mRNA

   chondrule

   small granule (of e.g. chrysolite) found in some meteoric rocks

   plastid

   any of various small particles in the cytoplasm of the cells of plants and some animals containing pigments or starch or oil or protein

   chromoplast

   plastid containing pigments other than chlorophyll usually yellow or orange carotenoids

   chloroplast

   plastid containing chlorophyll and other pigments; in plants that carry out photosynthesis

   type of:

   grain

   a relatively small granular particle of a substance