bioinformatics

American  

[bahy-oh-in-fer-mat-iks] / ˌbaɪ oʊˌɪn fərˈmæt ɪks /

noun

(used with a singular verb)

1. the retrieval and analysis of biochemical and biological data using mathematics and computer science, as in the study of genomes.

---

bioinformatics British  

/ ˌbaɪəʊˌɪnfəˈmætɪks /

noun

1. the branch of information science concerned with large databases of biochemical or pharmaceutical information

---

bioinformatics Scientific  

/ bī′ō-ĭn′fər-măt′ĭks /

1. Information technology as applied to the life sciences, especially the technology used for the collection and analysis of genomic data.

---

Etymology

Origin of bioinformatics

First recorded in 1975–80; bio- ( def. ) + informatics ( def. )

Example Sentences

"We had to innovate to detect neutrophils more accurately," explains Pratyaksha Wirapati, co-first author and bioinformatics specialist.

From Science Daily • Feb. 10, 2026

The ability to snack on synthetic carbon may confer a crucial survival advantage, noted Intikhab Alam, a senior bioinformatics researcher and co-leader of the study.

From Science Daily • Nov. 4, 2025

Current bioinformatics tools can’t scan this much data all at once, especially for sequences that haven’t yet been assembled into genomes.

From Science Magazine • Jun. 5, 2024

Lida Wang, a doctoral student in the biostatistics program, and Chachrit Khunsriraksakul, who earned a doctorate in bioinformatics and geonomics in 2022 and his medical degree in May from Penn State, co-led the study.

From Science Daily • May 20, 2024

Using a combination of bioinformatics, molecular modeling, biochemical binding assays and live-cell imaging, Matsubayashi and his colleagues demonstrated that a disordered region within p85β's inter-SH2 domain directly binds to the endocytic protein AP2.

From Science Daily • Apr. 24, 2024