abiotic
Americanadjective
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Not associated with or derived from living organisms. Abiotic factors in an environment include such items as sunlight, temperature, wind patterns, and precipitation.
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Etymology
Origin of abiotic
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Explanation
In science, anything abiotic is not alive. Abiotic factors in an ecosystem are things like temperature, ocean currents, and humidity. Abiotic elements play an important role in the world, in a variety of ways. Everything that isn't living, and never was living, is considered abiotic—from the sand on the beach and boulders on a mountain to the sunlight from above and the mineral makeup of the soil beneath your feet. Abiotic comes from the prefix a-, "without," and biotic, "pertaining to life."
Vocabulary lists containing abiotic
Organisms and Environments 1: The Environment
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The ACT Science Test: Earth Science Review
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Specifically, they cite several questions that existing laws leave unaddressed -- including issues of atmospheric and abiotic contamination -- which constitute important gaps in planetary policy that must be confronted, collaboratively.
From Science Daily • Jun. 3, 2024
"But few studies have examined biotic impacts, such as pathogen infection, on thermal tolerance in natural populations in combination with abiotic factors," she explained.
From Science Daily • May 7, 2024
“This is the first sign of an abiotic source,” says Nora Hänni, a chemist at the University of Bern who presented the discovery last week at the General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union.
From Science Magazine • Apr. 26, 2024
This new AI technique works by recognizing patterns across the composition of various samples and categorizing them as living or nonliving based on what it "knows" about patterns of biotic or abiotic objects.
From Salon • Sep. 26, 2023
Lakes and ponds are found in terrestrial landscapes and are therefore connected with abiotic and biotic factors influencing these terrestrial biomes.
From Textbooks • Apr. 25, 2013
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
