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bioaccumulate

British  
/ ˌbaɪəʊəˈkjuːmʊˌleɪt /

verb

  1. (of substances, esp toxins) to build up within the tissues of organisms

"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

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Example Sentences

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Small fish including anchovies and sardines ingest the toxic algae, which then bioaccumulate in larger marine mammals that eat the fish.

From Los Angeles Times • May 29, 2025

“It’s really concerning when you think about flame retardants, because they’re known to bioaccumulate in our bodies,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 18, 2024

Mercury is one of the most toxic elements in marine systems and can bioaccumulate and biomagnify through marine food webs.

From Science Daily • Feb. 21, 2024

These plastic fibers have the potential to bioaccumulate, concentrating toxins in the bodies of larger animals, higher up the food chain.

From The Guardian • Jun. 20, 2016

And as the impacts from the spill on the fish bioaccumulate and propagate across generations, liability is harder to prove without good and strategic scientific study that sadly is harder to fund.

From Salon • May 23, 2012

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