food web

American  

[food web] / ˈfud ˌwɛb /

noun

Ecology.

1. a series of organisms related by predator-prey and consumer-resource interactions; the entirety of interrelated food chains in an ecological community.

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food web British  

noun

1. a combination of food chains that integrate to form a network

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food web Scientific  

1. See under food chain

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Etymology

Origin of food web

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

Using this information, the team reconstructed the Jurassic food web in greater detail than previously achieved for dinosaurs.

From Science Daily • Feb. 1, 2026

Microplastics, along with ultra-tiny nanoplastics, can kill or severely sicken marine life before entering the food web and ultimately ending up on our plates.

From Barron's • Jan. 22, 2026

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena wanted to understand how these chemical defenses move through the forest food web.

From Science Daily • Jan. 1, 2026

"As ice decreases in the future, we expect to see increased consumption of nutrients by phytoplankton in the Arctic, which has consequences for the food web," Pavia said.

From Science Daily • Nov. 13, 2025

They "play a central role in the food web, consuming fish and invertebrates and recycling nutrients" and are one of the "keystone species" of their ecosystem.

From Barron's • Oct. 10, 2025