holophytic

American

[hol-uh-fit-ik, hoh-luh-] / ˌhɒl əˈfɪt ɪk, ˌhoʊ lə- /

adjective

(of a plant) obtaining energy by synthesizing inorganic substances; autotrophic.

holophytic British

/ ˈhɒləˌfaɪt, ˌhɒləˈfɪtɪk /

adjective

(of plants) capable of synthesizing their food from inorganic molecules, esp by photosynthesis

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

holophyte

noun

Etymology

Origin of holophytic

1880–85; holo- + -phytic; see -phyte, -ic

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.

See Examples For:

holophytic

It is easy to understand the relation of the saprophytic and the holophytic Flagellates to true plants.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 4 "Finland" to "Fleury, Andre" by Various

In the active condition of such coloured holophytic forms there is usually at least one anterior “eye-spot,” of a refractive globule embedded behind in a collection of red pigment granules.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 4 "Finland" to "Fleury, Andre" by Various

Contractile vacuoles 1-3, a complex of variable arrangement; pellicle delicate; plastids discoid chlorophyll-bodies; reserves oil; eye-spot absent even in active state; holophytic or saprophytic, though with an anterior blind tubular depression simulating a pharynx.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 4 "Finland" to "Fleury, Andre" by Various

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023