biology

[ bahy-ol-uh-jee ]

noun

1. the science of life or living matter in all its forms and phenomena, especially with reference to origin, growth, reproduction, structure, and behavior.
2. the living organisms of a region:

   the biology of Pennsylvania.

3. the biological phenomena characteristic of an organism or a group of organisms:

   She is studying the biology of worms, especially in regard to their reproductive behavior.

biology

/ baɪˈɒlədʒɪ /

noun

1. the study of living organisms, including their structure, functioning, evolution, distribution, and interrelationships
2. the structure, functioning, etc, of a particular organism or group of organisms
3. the animal and plant life of a particular region

biology

/ bī-ŏl′ə-jē /

1. The scientific study of life and of living organisms. Botany, zoology, and ecology are all branches of biology.

biology

1. The study of life and living systems.

Derived Forms

• biˈologist, noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of biology¹

From the German word Biologie, dating back to 1805–15. See bio-, -logy

Example Sentences

For his tireless assault on evolutionary biology and downsizing the deity to fit within science, I give Meyer second place.

From The Daily Beast

Complementarity as conservative Catholics use the term, however, is more than biology.

From The Daily Beast

“In the long term, I am more worried about biology,” he told The Telegraph.

From The Daily Beast

Essentially he is arguing that there are functional trade-offs in developmental biology.

From The Daily Beast

People are starting to recognize that depression must relate to biology, because who would give up such an outwardly gifted life?

From The Daily Beast

Its backbone should be the study of biology and its substance should be the threshing out of the burning questions of our day.

From Project Gutenberg

“Botany is that branch of biology which treats of plant life” has in it the same error.

From Project Gutenberg

“Biology” is not so well understood as “botany,” though it is a more general term.

From Project Gutenberg

It follows that biology is the foundation rather than the house, if we may use so crude a figure.

From Project Gutenberg

It is time to abandon the notion that biology prescribes in detail how we shall run society.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• anthropology
• biological science
• ecology
• environmental science
• medicine
• natural science
• zoology