Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

organism

[awr-guh-niz-uhm]
See more synonyms for organism on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a form of life composed of mutually interdependent parts that maintain various vital processes.
  2. a form of life considered as an entity; an animal, plant, fungus, protistan, or moneran.
  3. any organized body or system conceived of as analogous to a living being: the governmental organism.
  4. any complex thing or system having properties and functions determined not only by the properties and relations of its individual parts, but by the character of the whole that they compose and by the relations of the parts to the whole.
Show More

Origin of organism

First recorded in 1655–65; organ + -ism
Related formsor·gan·is·mic, or·gan·is·mal, adjectiveor·gan·is·mi·cal·ly, adverbsu·per·or·gan·ism, noun
Can be confusedorganism orgasm

Synonyms

See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com
4. organization, network, entity, structure.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

structure, animal, creature, being, person, plant, body, entity

Examples from the Web for organism

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Thus the organism modifies its surroundings, and is in turn modified by them.

    The Truth About Woman

    C. Gasquoine Hartley

  • During this period the organism undergoes the most singular metamorphoses.

  • He obeyed his instincts, permitting the will of his organism to lead him.

    Therese Raquin

    Emile Zola

  • Though they may be shorn of their glory, they retain their place in the organism of knowledge.

  • This is not the only way of stimulating the organism, but it seems the most powerful.

British Dictionary definitions for organism

organism

noun
  1. any living biological entity, such as an animal, plant, fungus, or bacterium
  2. anything resembling a living creature in structure, behaviour, etc
Show More
Derived Formsorganismal or organismic, adjectiveorganismally, adverb
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

Word Origin and History for organism

n.

1660s, "organic structure, organization," from organize + -ism. Sense of "living animal or plant" first recorded 1842. Related: Organismic.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
organism in Medicine

organism

(ôr′gə-nĭz′əm)
n.
  1. An individual form of life, such as a plant, animal, bacterium, protist, or fungus; a body made up of organs, organelles, or other parts that work together to carry on the various processes of life.
Show More
Related formsor′gan•is′mal (-nĭz′məl) null adj.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
organism in Science

organism

[ôr′gə-nĭz′əm]
  1. An individual form of life that is capable of growing, metabolizing nutrients, and usually reproducing. Organisms can be unicellular or multicellular. They are scientifically divided into five different groups (called kingdoms) that include prokaryotes, protists, fungi, plants, and animals, and that are further subdivided based on common ancestry and homology of anatomic and molecular structures.
Show More
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.