biome

American  

[bahy-ohm] / ˈbaɪ oʊm /

noun

Ecology.

• biomes
  plural

1. a complex biotic community characterized by distinctive plant and animal species and maintained under the climatic conditions of the region, especially such a community that has developed to climax.

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biome British  

/ ˈbaɪˌəʊm /

noun

1. a major ecological community, extending over a large area and usually characterized by a dominant vegetation See formation

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biome Scientific  

/ bī′ōm′ /

1. A large community of plants and animals that occupies a distinct region. Terrestrial biomes, typically defined by their climate and dominant vegetation, include grassland, tundra, desert, tropical rainforest, and deciduous and coniferous forests. There are two basic aquatic biomes, freshwater and marine, which are sometimes further broken down into categories such as lakes and rivers or pelagic, benthic, and intertidal zones.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• biomes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of biome

First recorded in 1915–20; bi- ² + -ome, indicating a mass or part of something ( see -oma)

Explanation

A biome is a specific environment that's home to living things suited for that place and climate. A desert biome is great for a lizard, but a koala needs the leafy greens of a forest biome. A plant or animal makes its home in a specific biome, which is pronounced "BI-ohm." While a biome can range from an arctic tundra to a tropical rain forest, living things need to stay in the biome that's best suited to keeping them alive and growing. Scientists in the field of ecology, the study of the environmental connections between living things, work to understand the effects of climate change and population growth on biomes.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

biome biomes

The hardest-hit biome last year was once again the Cerrado, a vast, biodiverse savanna south of the Amazon.

From Barron's ● May 27, 2026

The investment is so far concentrated in central Brazil’s Cerrado biome, a major producer of grains and cattle where deforestation has been rampant.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026

But there does come a "tipping point" for older people when the gut biome gets worse.

From BBC ● Jan. 12, 2026

“Each biome reveals something new, each path hints at what’s ahead without giving it away.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2025

We open a door near the bathroom and pierce a seal into an entirely different biome of the hospital—red brick, indoor trees, posters of notable doctors who practiced there.

From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini

The scale of the increase varied across the four different biomes surveyed, with the sharpest rise in tropical savannas.

From Barron's ● Jan. 6, 2026

They were able to draw inferences about the global climate on land, about productivity of different regions, and about characteristics of the various biomes of the Miocene compared to today.

From Salon ● Feb. 17, 2025

"There are new cultures and settings and creatures, and new biomes," he said.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2024

“It’s a fear factor. It’s an opinion factor. It’s based on 19th century evidence. It’s absolutely ridiculous,” she said, citing research that shows healthy gut biomes and breast milk provide immune system benefits.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2024

Their study drew from data on health outcomes, land use, surface water, and demographics in the Amazon and Cerrado biomes.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2023

Related Words

• ecosystem
• habitat