Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

biochemical oxygen demand

American  

noun

  1. the oxygen required by aerobic organisms, as those in sewage, for metabolism. BOD

biochemical oxygen demand British  

noun

  1.  BOD.  a measure of the organic pollution of water: the amount of oxygen, in mg per litre of water, absorbed by a sample kept at 20°C for five days

"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
biochemical oxygen demand Scientific  
/ bī′ō-kĕm′ĭ-kəl /

  1. The amount of oxygen required by aerobic microorganisms to decompose the organic matter in a sample of water, such as one polluted by sewage. It is used as a measure of the degree of water pollution.

Etymology

Origin of biochemical oxygen demand

First recorded in 1925–30

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.