bioterrorism

[ bahy-oh-ter-uh-riz-uhm ]

/ ˌbaɪ oʊˈtɛr əˌrɪz əm /

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noun

terrorist acts involving the use of harmful agents and products of biological origin, as disease-producing microorganisms or toxins.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of bioterrorism

First recorded in 1980–85; bio- + terrorism

OTHER WORDS FROM bioterrorism

bi·o·ter·ror·ist, noun, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use bioterrorism in a sentence

Terrorism is bad news anywhere, but especially rough on Odessa, where the city motto seems to be “make love, not war.”
Is Putin Turning to Terrorism in Ukraine?|Anna Nemtsova|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
She is the author of Dirty Entanglements: Corruption, Crime and Terrorism (Cambridge University Press).
ISIS, Boko Haram, and the Growing Role of Human Trafficking in 21st Century Terrorism|Louise I. Shelley|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
That tweet came from Shay Horse, whose bio lists him as an independent photojournalist with ties to Occupy Wall Street.
The Monsters Who Screamed for Dead Cops|Jacob Siegel|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In her Twitter profile bio, writer Liz Tuccillo calls herself a “relationship know-it-all.”
Confessions of a Rom-Com Writer: Liz Tuccillo Talks ‘Sex and the City,’ ‘Take Care,’ and More|Kevin Fallon|December 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Nicaragua is the largest country in Central America, and one of the most bio-diverse and beautiful.
China’s Nicaragua Canal Could Spark a New Central America Revolution|Nina Lakhani|November 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
All this is part of a vast new science which is called bio-chemistry, or the chemistry of life.
The Book of Life: Vol. I Mind and Body; Vol. II Love and Society|Upton Sinclair
He has a sense of humor about all things except this sacred bio-chemistry.
The Book of Life: Vol. I Mind and Body; Vol. II Love and Society|Upton Sinclair
Or bio-weapons; a man-made plague that had gotten out of control and all but depopulated the planet.
Space Viking|Henry Beam Piper
Terrorism is expedient in Russia and inexpedient in Germany and England.
Anarchism|Paul Eltzbacher
The same law holds good in bio-geography; here, too, area gives strength and a small territorial foothold means weakness.
Influences of Geographic Environment|Ellen Churchill Semple

British Dictionary definitions for bioterrorism

bio-terrorism

bio-terror

noun

the use of living organisms and their toxic products to kill or incapacitate, esp as a political weapon

Derived forms of bio-terrorism

bio-terrorist, adjective, noun

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 bioterrorism (1 of 2)

bioterrorism

Terrorism that relies on spreading diseases, such as anthrax and smallpox.

Cultural definitions for bioterrorism (2 of 2)

bioterrorism

The use of biological agents as weapons of terror. Anthrax bacteria are one such agent, while smallpox is considered one of the more likely lethal viruses that could serve as a weapon of bioterror. (See germ warfare.)