photosynthesize

American  

[foh-tuh-sin-thuh-sahyz] / ˌfoʊ təˈsɪn θəˌsaɪz /

verb (used without object)

photosynthesized, photosynthesizing

1. to produce carbohydrates by photosynthesis.

   Plants with light green leaves don't photosynthesize as well as those with darker leaves.

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verb (used with object)

photosynthesized, photosynthesizing

1. to produce by photosynthesis.

   Plants photosynthesize sugars from carbon dioxide and water.

photosynthesize British  

/ ˌfəʊtəʊˈsɪnθɪˌsaɪz /

verb

1. (of plants and some bacteria) to carry out photosynthesis

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Etymology

Origin of photosynthesize

First recorded in 1905–10; photo- ( def. ) + synthesize ( def. )

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

photosynthesize photosynthesized photosynthesizing

They have a mutualistic relationship with symbionts, which produce the vast majority of food the corals require, in return for shelter, as well as water and the carbon dioxide they need to photosynthesize.

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

Some of these animals can photosynthesize like plants; some harvest algae and seawater to make calcium carbonate for their underwater castles; some produce their own light or glow in the dark.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025

In a few months, a single leaf emerges, allowing the plant to photosynthesize and rebuild the energy needed for its next bloom, two to three years later.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2025

"So phytoplankton use carbon to photosynthesize while things like mussels also use carbon to build their shells."

From BBC ● Apr. 17, 2025

Its leaves harvest sunlight to photosynthesize, so trees compete by shadowing their neighbors.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

The seaweed grown in acidified water actually grew more, photosynthesized more effectively, and showed no significant increase in drag.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 25, 2023

Whether you eat meat or not, that energy that was first photosynthesized has traveled to you through different organisms.

From Salon ● Feb. 10, 2023

The unit was then left on a windowsill, according to New Scientist, where the algae photosynthesized, generating a tiny current of electricity that powered an ARM Cortex-M0+ chip.

From The Verge ● May 16, 2022

Then about 1.25 billion years ago, one of these photosynthesizing bacteria partnered with another one-celled organism to create green algae, one lineage of which became the ancestor of all plants.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

The term is less taxonomically specific and more of a catchall, used to refer to any photosynthesizing organism that isn’t a plant.

From Slate ● Jun. 27, 2026

Some acoels also have symbiotic algae sharing the space of the animals' organs, and photosynthesizing inside the animals' body.

From Science Daily ● May 15, 2024

Those compounds—sugars and starches for example—move up the food chain: Plants and photosynthesizing microbes are eaten by other organisms, which in turn are eaten by even bigger organisms.

From Science Magazine ● Oct. 17, 2023

Second, when gases from Earth were introduced into the Martian soil sample, the gases became chemically combined with the soil—almost as if there were photosynthesizing microbes, generating organic matter from atmospheric gases.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

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