free-living
Americanadjective
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following a way of life in which one freely indulges the appetites, desires, etc.
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Biology. noting an organism that is neither parasitic, symbiotic, nor sessile.
adjective
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given to ready indulgence of the appetites
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(of animals and plants) not parasitic; existing independently
Other Word Forms
- free-liver noun
Etymology
Origin of free-living
First recorded in 1810–20
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.
Scientists have identified around 400 species of free-living amoebae, but only six are known to cause disease in humans - including Naegleria fowleri and Acanthamoeba, both of which can infect the brain.
From BBC
It’s also a parasite — because who needs to be free-living when you’re this fabulous?
From Salon
Nematodes are among the planet's most abundant animals, "free-living" in water, soil and the Earth's crust in addition to parasitizing a large collection of plant and animal species.
From Science Daily
Photosynthesis takes place inside chloroplasts, small compartments within plant cells that contain their own genome, reflecting their past as free-living photosynthetic bacteria before they were engulfed and co-opted by plants.
From Science Daily
The lifecycle of soil-transmitted helminths has two phases -- a free-living stage as eggs and larvae in the environment and an adult stage inside the host.
From Science Daily
Definitions 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.
