abiotic

American  

[ey-bahy-ot-ik, ab-ee-] / ˌeɪ baɪˈɒt ɪk, ˌæb i- /

Also abiotical

adjective

1. of or characterized by the absence of life or living organisms.

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abiotic Scientific  

/ ā′bī-ŏt′ĭk /

1. Not associated with or derived from living organisms. Abiotic factors in an environment include such items as sunlight, temperature, wind patterns, and precipitation.

2. Compare biotic

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Other Word Forms

• abiotically adverb

Etymology

Origin of abiotic

a- ⁶ + biotic

Compare meaning

How does abiotic compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• biotic vs. abiotic

Example Sentences

“You need to look into all sorts of abiotic sources for interesting chemical compounds.”

From Science Magazine • Apr. 26, 2024

"That leads us also to the question of rules of life: Can we use this method to start understanding what it is that makes life as a chemical system quite distinct from abiotic systems?"

From Salon • Sep. 26, 2023

Adds Dr. Cleaves: "From a chemical standpoint, the differences between biotic and abiotic samples relate to things like water solubility, molecular weights, volatility and so on."

From Science Daily • Sep. 25, 2023

Vast multidimensional data from the molecular analyses of 134 known abiotic or biotic carbon-rich samples were used to train AI to predict a new sample's origin.

From Science Daily • Sep. 25, 2023

Wind can be an important abiotic factor because it influences the rate of evaporation and transpiration.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015