biodegradable
Americanadjective
adjective
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The use of biodegradable packaging is supposed to reduce the volume of waste in landfills.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of biodegradable
Explanation
If something is biodegradable, it can decompose naturally. When you're out camping, you shouldn't leave anything behind and certainly nothing that isn't biodegradable. A plastic bottle is the antithesis of biodegradable — it will be there forever. When you think environmentally friendly, you're thinking biodegradable, and truly environmentally friendly substances degrade quickly into harmless components. What makes something biodegradable is that the decomposition is done by means of living organisms, such as bacteria. When you put earthworms into your compost, they're the living organisms that are assisting you with the decomposition.
Vocabulary lists containing biodegradable
Words to Live By: Bio
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Power Suffix: -able
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Frankenwords: Words with Roots from Different Languages
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"It's safe, biodegradable and nucleates ice at a higher efficiency than silver iodide," says Li, whose company currently uses silver iodide to seed clouds in several US states.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
“Our research found that even with common dyes and finishes, cotton remained biodegradable and, on average, biodegraded faster than an oak leaf under the same conditions,” he says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
Researchers at Imperial College London say they have developed the first fully biodegradable balloon and hope to bring it to market within two years.
From Barron's ● Aug. 23, 2026
PHAs serve as microbial energy and carbon reserves, but they are also used to manufacture biodegradable plastics.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026
She wanted to do paper lanterns, but I said no, because even the biodegradable ones aren’t good for the earth.
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
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.
