photoautotroph

[ foh-toh-aw-tuh-trof, -trohf ]

/ ˌfoʊ toʊˈɔ təˌtrɒf, -ˌtroʊf /

noun Biology.

any organism that derives its energy for food synthesis from light and is capable of using carbon dioxide as its principal source of carbon.

QUIZZES

How Hip Is Your Lingo? Take Our Slang Quiz!

If you aren’t already skilled in slang, then this quiz can get you up to speed in no time!

Question 1 of 11

OK Boomer can be perceived as pejorative, but it is mostly considered to be _____

a slang word for astronauts that originated in the 1950s.

a comment toward the Baby Boomer generation that is humorous or ironic in usage.

an obsolete slang term about people who speak loudly.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of photoautotroph

First recorded in 1945–50; photo- + autotroph

OTHER WORDS FROM photoautotroph

pho·to·au·to·troph·ic, adjective

Words nearby photoautotroph

photoactivation, photoactive, photoaging, photoallergic, photoanalyst, photoautotroph, photoautotrophic, photobathic, photobiology, photobiotic, photobomb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for photoautotrophic

photoautotrophic

/ (ˌfəʊtəʊˌɔːtəʊˈtrɒfɪk) /

adjective

(of plants) capable of using light as the energy source in the synthesis of food from inorganic matterSee also photosynthesis

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

Scientific definitions for photoautotrophic

photoautotroph

[ fō′tō-ô′tə-trŏf′, -trōf′ ]

See phototroph.