Micrergate, a term coined in 2014, is an amalgamation of two words: "micro" meaning small and "ergate" meaning a worker ant. The spelling of micrergate can be broken down using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) as /ˈmaɪkrəˌgeɪt/. The "mi-" is pronounced as "my," the "crer-" sounds like "kruhr," and the "-gate" is pronounced like "geyt." This word describes a small workforce in an organization or community, similar to a colony of ants where each ant has a specific job to perform.