in silico

[ in sil-i-koh ]

adverb

1. (of a scientific experiment or scientific research) modeled or simulated on a computer, rather than in a living organism, a natural setting, or a controlled experimental environment: Compare in vitro ( def ), in vivo ( def ).

   An increasing amount of scientific work is performed in silico, with the entire process, from experiment to publication, performed by computer.

   The data was obtained from the results of an in silico analysis of four different treatments.

Word History and Origins

Origin of in silico¹

First recorded in 1985–90; on the pattern of in vitro ( def ), with substitution of vitro with silico, based on silicon ( def )