organism
[ awr-guh-niz-uhm ]
/ ˈɔr gəˌnɪz əm /
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noun
a form of life composed of mutually interdependent parts that maintain various vital processes.
a form of life considered as an entity; an animal, plant, fungus, protistan, or moneran.
any organized body or system conceived of as analogous to a living being: the governmental organism.
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.
SYNONYMS FOR organism
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OTHER WORDS FROM organism
or·gan·is·mic, or·gan·is·mal, adjectiveor·gan·is·mi·cal·ly, adverbsu·per·or·gan·ism, nounWORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH organism
organism , orgasmWords nearby organism
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for organism
British Dictionary definitions for organism
organism
/ (ˈɔːɡəˌnɪzəm) /
noun
any living biological entity, such as an animal, plant, fungus, or bacterium
anything resembling a living creature in structure, behaviour, etc
Derived forms of organism
organismal or organismic, adjectiveorganismally, adverbCollins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Medical definitions for organism
organism
[ ôr′gə-nĭz′əm ]
n.
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.
Other words from organism
or′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.
Scientific definitions for organism
organism
[ ôr′gə-nĭz′əm ]
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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.