biophysics

[ bahy-oh-fiz-iks ]

/ ˌbaɪ oʊˈfɪz ɪks /

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noun (used with a singular verb)

the branch of biology that applies the methods of physics to the study of biological structures and processes.

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Origin of biophysics

First recorded in 1890–95; bio- + physics

OTHER WORDS FROM biophysics

bi·o·phys·i·cal

[bahy-oh-fiz-i-kuhl], /ˌbaɪ oʊˈfɪz ɪ kəl/, adjectivebi·o·phys·i·cal·ly, adverbbi·o·phys·i·cist

[bahy-oh-fiz-uh-sist], /ˌbaɪ oʊˈfɪz ə sɪst/, noun

Words nearby biophysics

bioorganic, bio-organism, biopesticide, biopharmaceutical, biophilia, biophysics, biopic, biopiracy, bioplasm, bioplastic, biopoiesis

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

How to use biophysics in a sentence

She’s a geobiologist at the Center for Molecular Biophysics in Orléans, France.
Earth’s rock collection hints at how to search for life elsewhere|Asa Stahl|August 8, 2022|Science News For Students
To cope, she picked a thesis advisor in the biophysics department, which allowed her to escape her harasser by conducting research in another building.
She risked everything to expose Facebook. Now she’s telling her story.|Karen Hao|July 29, 2021|MIT Technology Review
My lab, at the Center for Molecular Biophysics at the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, uses a supercomputer to discover drugs.
Scientists Tap the World’s Most Powerful Computers in the Race to Understand and Stop the Coronavirus|Jeremy Smith|June 4, 2020|Singularity Hub
Yes; his branch is one of the branches of the Biophysics Division.
Warren Commission (5 of 26): Hearings Vol. V (of 15)|The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy

And how long have you been chief of the Biophysics Division?
Warren Commission (5 of 26): Hearings Vol. V (of 15)|The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
There'd been a girl in his third-year biophysics class; he'd found out that she was a great-granddaughter of Force General Travis.
The Cosmic Computer|Henry Beam Piper
Experiments in biophysics are conducted in the medical cave.
LRL Accelerators|Lawrence Radiation Laboratory

British Dictionary definitions for biophysics

biophysics

/ (ˌbaɪəʊˈfɪzɪks) /

noun

(functioning as singular) the physics of biological processes and the application of methods used in physics to biology

Derived forms of biophysics

biophysical, adjectivebiophysically, adverbbiophysicist (ˌbaɪəʊˈfɪzɪsɪst), 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

Scientific definitions for biophysics

biophysics

[ bī′ō-fĭz′ĭks ]

The scientific study of biological processes in terms of the laws of physics. Phenomena such as echolocation in bats and the stresses and strains in skeletal and muscular structures are analyzed and explained in biophysics.

Cultural definitions for biophysics

biophysics

The study of living things using the techniques of physics.