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

This new AI technique works by recognizing patterns across the composition of various samples and categorizing them as living or nonliving based on what it "knows" about patterns of biotic or abiotic objects.

From Salon • Sep. 26, 2023

The authors add that until now the origins of many ancient carbon-bearing samples have been difficult to determine because collections of organic molecules, whether biotic or abiotic, tend to degrade over time.

From Science Daily • Sep. 25, 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

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

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015