micromanage
verb
micromanage is spelled M-I-C-R-O-M-A-N-A-G-E: 11 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 68,248th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, micromanage means “To manage, direct, or control a person, group, or system to an unnecessary level of detail or precision” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in micromanage?
| Letters | 11: M-I-C-R-O-M-A-N-A-G-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 68,248th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is micromanage?
Micromanage appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 68,248th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce micromanage?
- US
Micromanage has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-micromanage.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of micromanage
- micromanages present, singular, he/she/it
- micromanaging participle, present
- micromanaged participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does micromanage mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To manage, direct, or control a person, group, or system to an unnecessary level of detail or precision.
The employees complained that their boss was micromanaging when she insisted that they account for their time in fifteen-minute intervals.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate micromanage?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of micromanage: micro.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Micromanage in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense Translations:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | microgestionar, microgerenciar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does micromanage come from?
Back-formation from micromanagement, equivalent to micro- + manage.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).