chemotropism

[ ki-mo-truh-piz-uhm ]

nounBiology.
  1. oriented growth or movement in response to a chemical stimulus.

Origin of chemotropism

1
First recorded in 1895–1900; chemo- + -tropism

Other words from chemotropism

  • che·mo·trop·ic [kee-muh-trop-ik, -troh-pik, kem-uh-], /ˌki məˈtrɒp ɪk, -ˈtroʊ pɪk, ˌkɛm ə-/, adjective
  • che·mo·trop·i·cal·ly, adverb

Words Nearby chemotropism

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

How to use chemotropism in a sentence

  • Conception depends on exactly the same erotic chemotropism in the fertilization of all the higher organisms.

    The Wonders of Life | Ernst Haeckel
  • Herbst pointed out that this might be a case of chemotropism, caused by the oxygen surrounding the egg.

    Darwin and Modern Science | A.C. Seward and Others
  • We have already alluded to certain phenomena of chemotropism in Chapter IV.

  • The act of seeking the female as well as that of cohabitation are in many cases combinations of chemotropism and stereotropism.

  • It is chemotropism, not solicitude for its offspring, which drives the flesh fly to lay its eggs on decaying meat.

    Being Well-Born | Michael F. Guyer

British Dictionary definitions for chemotropism

chemotropism

/ (ˌkɛməʊˈtrəʊˌpɪzəm) /


noun
  1. the growth response of an organism, esp a plant, to a chemical stimulus

Derived forms of chemotropism

  • chemotropic (ˌkɛməʊˈtrɒpɪk), adjective
  • chemotropically, adverb

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