basal metabolism

See synonyms for basal metabolism on Thesaurus.com
nounPhysiology.
  1. the minimal amount of energy necessary to maintain respiration, circulation, and other vital body functions while fasting and at total rest.

Origin of basal metabolism

1
First recorded in 1910–15

Words Nearby basal metabolism

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use basal metabolism in a sentence

  • It has been found by DuBois that the basal metabolism in boys of twelve is 25 per cent.

    Food in War Time | Graham Lusk
  • This measurement represents the basal metabolism of a man at complete rest, when his oxidative activities are at their lowest ebb.

    Food in War Time | Graham Lusk
  • To use this table one may seek the basal metabolism of the individual, add 10 per cent.

    Food in War Time | Graham Lusk
  • Ratios of measured to predicted values were used for basal metabolism (Hbr) and minimum wet thermal conductance (Cmwr).

  • Benedict and Emmes have shown by very careful measurements that the basal metabolism of men is about 6% higher than that of women.

    Taboo and Genetics | Melvin Moses Knight, Iva Lowther Peters, and Phyllis Mary Blanchard

British Dictionary definitions for basal metabolism

basal metabolism

noun
  1. the amount of energy required by an individual in the resting state, for such functions as breathing and circulation of the blood: See basal metabolic rate

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for basal metabolism

basal metabolism

[ (bay-suhl, bay-zuhl muh-tab-uh-liz-uhm) ]


The rate at which an inactive, resting organism expends energy.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.