carrying capacity
the maximum, equilibrium number of organisms of a particular species that can be supported indefinitely in a given environment. Abbreviation: K
Origin of carrying capacity
1Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use carrying capacity in a sentence
Sometimes called “carrying capacity,” it means all the bears the country can support.
A well known physical law states that the carrying capacity of a stream increases as the sixth power of its velocity.
Our National Forests | Richard H. Douai BoerkerWithout a hoof on it, it has a value in proportion to its carrying capacity, and Priest and I want these boys to secure it.
Wells Brothers | Andy AdamsThe team returned an hour before sunset, loaded to the carrying capacity of the wagon.
Wells Brothers | Andy AdamsIts engine power is enormous, and its carrying capacity unprecedented.
Famous Men and Great Events of the Nineteenth Century | Charles Morris
No legitimate commerce was suggested by her appearance, no honest trade demanded such manifest sacrifice of carrying capacity.
Due South or Cuba Past and Present | Maturin M. Ballou
British Dictionary definitions for carrying capacity
ecology the maximum number of individuals that an area of land can support, usually determined by their food requirements
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 carrying capacity
[ kăr′ē-ĭng ]
The maximum population of a particular organism that a given environment can support without detrimental effects.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for carrying capacity
In ecology, the number of living things that can exist for long periods in a given area without damaging the environment.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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