metatrophic

[ met-uh-trof-ik, -troh-fik ]
/ ˌmɛt əˈtrɒf ɪk, -ˈtroʊ fɪk /

adjective

requiring dead organic matter for food.

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Origin of metatrophic

First recorded in 1895–1900; meta- + trophic

OTHER WORDS FROM metatrophic

met·a·troph [met-uh-trof, -trawf] /ˈmɛt əˌtrɒf, -ˌtrɔf/, nounme·tat·ro·phy [muh-ta-truh-fee] /məˈtæ trə fi/, noun

Words nearby metatrophic

metatherian, metathesis, metathesize, metathorax, metatoluidine, metatrophic, metatropic dwarfism, metaverse, metaxas, metaxylem, metazoa
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for metatrophic

  • It is very probable that anarobes, exclusive of a few nitrogen absorbers, are metatrophic for all the elements they utilize.

    The Fundamentals of Bacteriology|Charles Bradfield Morrey

Medical definitions for metatrophic

metatrophic
[ mĕt′ə-trŏf′ĭk, -trō′fĭk ]

adj.

Of or relating to the ability to undertake anabolism.
Of or relating to the ability to obtain nourishment from varied sources, as from nitrogenous and carbonaceous organic matter.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.