geotaxis

[jee-oh-tak-sis]

noun

Biology.

1. oriented movement of a motile organism toward or away from a gravitational force.

geotaxis

/ ˌdʒiːəʊˈtæksɪs /

noun

1. movement of an organism in response to the stimulus of gravity

Other Word Forms

• geotactic adjective
• geotactically adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of geotaxis¹

First recorded in 1960–65; geo- + -taxis

Example Sentences

O. scapulalis does not exhibit this descending behavior, called geotaxis.

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