metabolic

American  

[met-uh-bol-ik] / ˌmɛt əˈbɒl ɪk /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or affected by metabolism.

2. undergoing metamorphosis.

---

Usage

What does metabolic mean? Metabolic describes something that is related to or is affected by metabolism, as in Dr. Petrov discovered the patient’s illness had metabolic causes. Your metabolism is the sum of the physical and chemical processes in your body needed to sustain life by producing energy. In humans, metabolism involves a large number of different organs and tissues. For this reason, the word metabolic is frequently used in medicine, nutrition, and other health sciences to discuss the digestive system, circulatory system, and other bodily processes. Example: While studying the birds, the researchers conducted intense studies of the animals’ metabolic rate increases during prolonged flights.

Other Word Forms

• hypermetabolic
  adjective
• metabolically
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of metabolic

First recorded in 1735–45; from Greek metabolikós “changeable,” from metabol(ḗ) “change” + -ikos -ic; see metabolism

Explanation

The adjective metabolic describes anything relating to the processes in the body that change food into energy. The high metabolic rate of an endurance athlete requires them to eat enormous meals. Metabolic processes are incredibly complicated, and they happen at the cellular level in human (and non-human) bodies. Turning calories from food into energy which keeps a body moving is just the simplest way to think about metabolic activity. When you consider the change that occurs (a peanut butter and jelly sandwich transforming into energy you use to play a soccer game), the root of metabolic makes total sense: it's the Greek metabole, "a change."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

metabolic

Knowing which foods influence particular microbial products could eventually help researchers design more precise dietary, probiotic, or metabolic interventions.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 15, 2026

Obesity is a major health problem worldwide and can raise the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other metabolic disorders.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 13, 2026

The team found that phosphite, a form of phosphorus naturally found in hydrothermal vents, can react with organic compounds in the presence of palladium and produce reactions associated with metabolic phosphorylation.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026

Importantly, the researchers identified examples in which bacteria and archaea appear to have independently developed different enzymes capable of performing the same essential metabolic task.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026

Information for a cell to carry out a metabolic function?

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee