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metabiosis

American

[met-uh-bahy-oh-sis] / ˌmɛt ə baɪˈoʊ sɪs /

noun

Biology.

a mode of living in which one organism is dependent on another for preparation of an environment in which it can live.

Other Word Forms

metabiotic adjective
metabiotically adverb

Etymology

Origin of metabiosis

First recorded in 1895–1900; meta- + -biosis

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.

Of these five organisms, it would appear that four live in metabiosis, the streptobacilli and bacilli hydrolyse the milk sugar, the components of which are split up by the yeast to alcohol and carbon-dioxide.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023