ecology

American  

[ih-kol-uh-jee, ee-kol-] / ɪˈkɒl ə dʒi, iˈkɒl- /

Archaic, oecology

noun

• ecologies
  plural

1. the branch of biology dealing with the relations and interactions between organisms and their environment, including other organisms.

2. the set of relationships existing between organisms and their environment.

   Inflowing rivers introduce nutrients and sediments that are important for the ecology of the lake.

3. the set of relationships existing between any complex system and its surroundings or environment.

   In the ecology of healthcare, both politics and technology play a key role.

4. Also called human ecology. the branch of sociology concerned with the spacing and interdependence of people and institutions.

5. advocacy for the protection of natural resources from pollution or its effects; environmentalism.

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ecology British  

/ ɪˈkɒlədʒɪ /

noun

1. the study of the relationships between living organisms and their environment

2. the set of relationships of a particular organism with its environment

3. the study of the relationships between human groups and their physical environment

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ecology Scientific  

/ ĭ-kŏl′ə-jē /

1. The scientific study of the relationships between living things and their environments.

2. Also called bionomics

3. A system of such relationships within a particular environment.

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ecology Cultural  

1. The study of living things, their environment, and the relation between the two.

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Synonym Usage

See ecosystem ( def. ).

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• ecologist
  noun
• ecologic
  adjective
• ecological
  adjective
• unecological
  adjective
• ecologically
  adverb
• unecologically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• ecologies
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of ecology

First recorded in 1870–75; earlier oecology, from German Ökologie, from Greek oîk(os) “house, dwelling” + -o- + German -logie -logy; term introduced by E. H. Haeckel (1834–1919)

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Explanation

The noun ecology describes the environment as it connects to living things, or the branch of biology that studies that environment. The German zoologist Ernst Haeckel coined the word ecology almost 150 years ago, and it should come as no surprise — his being a serious scientist and all — that he combined a couple of Greek words to do it. Oikos means "habitation" and -ology means "the study of." So ecology started off as the study of where things live. More and more, though, the word is used interchangeably with environment.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ecology ecologies

He said there had been a "woeful lack of investment" in ecology.

From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026

Its waters are part of the ancestral homeland of the Kootzaduka’a, whose name, meaning “brine fly eaters,” reflects their longstanding relationship with the lake and its ecology.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

Scientists still know relatively little about the behavior and ecology of Slash's groundsnake.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026

It is a collaboration between ecology and environment researchers, Gaelic and education experts at the University of Glasgow and local community organisations on the west coast of Scotland.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

“The panda reintroduction program began in 2003 with a team made up of researchers from many fields, including ecology, behavioral science,veterinary, and feeding management,” explains Suzanne Braden of Pandas International.

From "Camp Panda" by Catherine Thimmesh

The British architectural critic Reyner Banham wrote about the region’s four ecologies: the coast, the foothills, the flatlands and the freeways.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2025

While Mr Bhatia doesn’t think that urbanisation is evil, he points out that it can lead to the rather unscientific abandonment of traditions that were designed to serve systems and ecologies.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2024

Rather, in each of these blockbusters, the oceans are presented as complex ecologies of depth that merit serious and sustained attention.

From Salon ● Jan. 2, 2023

The wide-scale outbreaks have provided researchers with a new opportunity to fine-tune their understanding of the disease by studying which wild bird species, behaviors and ecologies play key roles in transmission.

From New York Times ● Jun. 17, 2022

Warming, Adams, Wheeler, and others have described, in their plant and animal ecologies, the processes of competition and segregation by which communities are formed.

From Introduction to the Science of Sociology by Robert Ezra Park

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Related Words

• conservation
• preservation

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