biotic
Americanadjective
adjective
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of or relating to living organisms
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(of a factor in an ecosystem) produced by the action of living organisms Compare edaphic
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Consisting of living organisms. An ecosystem is made up of a biotic community (all of the naturally occurring organisms within the system) together with the physical environment.
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Associated with or derived from living organisms. The biotic factors in an environment include the organisms themselves as well as such items as predation, competition for food resources, and symbiotic relationships.
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Compare abiotic
Etymology
Origin of biotic
1590–1600; < Greek biōtikós of, pertaining to life, equivalent to biō-, verbid stem of bioûn to live + -tikos -tic
Compare meaning
How does biotic compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
The prefix "bio-" refers to "life," and the suffix "-ic" means "like" and makes a word an adjective, so you can figure that biotic describes something lifelike, as in "Evolution is simply biotic adaptation." As with so many scientific terms, the word biotic derives from the Greek biotikos, meaning "pertaining to life." Any ecosystem consists of the biotic entities — the living organisms — along with their physical environment, and the study of that ecosystem centers on the impact of one element on the other. Pioneer ecologist Aldo Leopold once said, “A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.”
Vocabulary lists containing biotic
Words to Live By: Bio
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Ecology - Middle School
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Earth Science - Middle School
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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.
"We wanted to examine the idea that biotic homogenisation is a defining characteristic of the biodiversity crisis," first author Dr Shane Blowes of iDiv and MLU says.
From Science Daily • Feb. 21, 2024
“Drought stress opens a window for biotic agents that might otherwise not be able to overcome a healthy, well-defended tree,” said Tobin.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 17, 2023
This new AI technique works by recognizing patterns across the composition of various samples and categorizing them as living or nonliving based on what it "knows" about patterns of biotic or abiotic objects.
From Salon • Sep. 26, 2023
The abyssal plains are strewn with mineral nodules that coalesce around biotic seeds such as sharks' teeth, accumulating cobalt and other metals integral to lithium-ion batteries.
From Scientific American • Jun. 20, 2023
The new biotic control of insects is not wholly a matter of electronics and gamma radiation and other products of man’s inventive mind.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
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.
