metabiosis

[met-uh-bahy-oh-sis]

noun

Biology.

1. a mode of living in which one organism is dependent on another for preparation of an environment in which it can live.

Other Word Forms

• metabiotic adjective
• metabiotically adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of metabiosis¹

First recorded in 1895–1900; meta- + -biosis

Example Sentences

Of these five organisms, it would appear that four live in metabiosis, the streptobacilli and bacilli hydrolyse the milk sugar, the components of which are split up by the yeast to alcohol and carbon-dioxide.

From Project Gutenberg