commensal
Americanadjective
-
eating together at the same table.
-
Ecology. (of an animal, plant, fungus, etc.) living with, on, or in another, without injury to either.
-
Sociology. (of a person or group) not competing while residing in or occupying the same area as another individual or group having independent or different values or customs.
noun
-
a companion at table.
-
Ecology. a commensal organism.
adjective
-
(of two different species of plant or animal) living in close association, such that one species benefits without harming the other
-
rare of or relating to eating together, esp at the same table
commensal pleasures
noun
-
a commensal plant or animal
-
rare a companion at table
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of commensal
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Medieval Latin word commēnsālis. See com-, mensal 2
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.
"This fundamentally changes our view of commensal bacteria," says Prof. Pascal Falter-Braun, Director of the Institute for Network Biology at Helmholtz Munich and corresponding author of the study.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 27, 2026
The early human-leopard cat relationship was essentially "commensal" where two species live alongside each other harmlessly, said Prof Shu-Jin Luo of Peking University in Beijing.
From BBC ● Nov. 27, 2025
The researchers found that while the different lantibiotics had varying effects, they killed pathogens and commensal bacteria alike.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 2, 2024
"The number of commensal bacteria in very low compared to the gut so it is possible that they don't do much," Persat said.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2023
In a commensal tradition, where food is precious, the powerful older people made wrongdoers eat alone.
From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
