bio

¹

[bahy-oh]

noun

plural

bios 

1. biography.

2. biology.

adjective

1. biographical.

2. biological.

   a bio control service using praying mantises to reduce the population of garden pests.

bio-

²

1. a combining form meaning “life” occurring in loanwords from Greek (biography ); on this model, used in the formation of compound words (bioluminescence ).

bio-

¹

combining form

1. indicating or involving life or living organisms

   biogenesis

   biolysis

2. indicating a human life or career

   biography

   biopic

bio

²

/ ˈbaɪəʊ /

noun

1. short for biography

Word History and Origins

Origin of bio¹

1945–50; by shortening; as adj., independent use of bio-, taken as a free form

Origin of bio²

Combining form of Greek bíos life; akin to Latin vīvus living, Sanskrit jīvas. See quick

Word History and Origins

Origin of bio¹

from Greek bios life

Example Sentences

Referee Michael Salisbury had only just blown the full-time whistle to confirm Everton's dramatic late win over Crystal Palace when the Toffees updated the bio on their X account.

From BBC

Older posts from the gimmick Instagram account Particle6 made for Tilly, which includes the tag “#aiart” in its bio, also faced down a blitz of comment bombs, with Yvette Nicole Brown demanding that a clear A.I. label “should be on every single post.”

From Slate

This biomass process creates a dry, flaky ash mainly composed of minerals — essentially everything in the original biomass that wasn’t “bio” — that can include heavy metals that the dead plants sucked up from the air or soil.

From Los Angeles Times

His bio — now scrubbed from the district’s website and only available on archives — said he was born to Guyanese immigrants and grew up in New York, before teaching and serving as an administrator in Missouri, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York and Washington, D.C.

From Salon

“Lower Classy” really was: This is my bio; this is how my mom was; this is how my family was; this is how I’m doing.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• account 
• anecdote 
• autobiography 
• biography 
• chronicle 
• diary 
• essay 
• journal 
• life 
• life story www.thesaurus.com
• memory 
• narrative 
• note 
• recollection 
• reminiscence 
• thesis 
• treatise 

When To Use

What does bio- mean?

The combining form bio- is used like a prefix meaning “life.” It is often used in scientific terms, especially in biology.The form bio- comes from Greek bíos, meaning “life.” The Latin cognate of bíos is vīta, “life,” which is the source of words such as vital. Find out more at our entry for vital.What are variants of bio-?When combined with words or word elements that begin with a vowel, bio- becomes bi-, as in biome. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use article for bi-.