symbiosis

American  

[sim-bee-oh-sis, -bahy-] / ˌsɪm biˈoʊ sɪs, -baɪ- /

noun

• symbioses
  plural

1. Biology.

   1. the living together of two dissimilar organisms, as in mutualism, commensalism, amensalism, or parasitism.

   2. (formerly) mutualism.

2. Psychiatry. a relationship between two people in which each person is dependent upon and receives reinforcement, whether beneficial or detrimental, from the other.

3. Psychoanalysis. the relationship between an infant and their mother in which the infant is dependent on the mother both physically and emotionally.

4. any interdependent or mutually beneficial relationship between two persons, groups, etc.

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symbiosis British  

/ ˌsɪmbɪˈəʊsɪs, ˌsɪmbaɪˈəʊsɪs /

noun

1. a close and usually obligatory association of two organisms of different species that live together, often to their mutual benefit

2. a similar relationship between interdependent persons or groups

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symbiosis Scientific  

/ sĭm′bē-ō′sĭs /

1. The close association between two or more organisms of different species, often but not necessarily benefiting each member. The association of algae and fungi in lichens and of bacteria living in the intestines or on the skin of animals are forms of symbiosis. Some scientists believe that many multicellular organisms evolved from symbiotic relationships between unicellular ones and that the DNA-containing organelles within certain eukaryotic cells (such as mitochondria and chloroplasts) are the product of symbiotic relationships in which the participants became interdependent. There are four forms of symbiosis: amensalism, commensalism, mutualism, and parasitism.

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symbiosis Cultural  

1. The process by which two organisms live together, usually to their mutual benefit. An example of a symbiotic pair are cows and the bacteria that live in their digestive tracts, enabling them to digest cellulose in grass.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• symbiotic
  adjective
• symbiotical
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• symbioses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of symbiosis

First recorded in 1615–25; from Greek symbíōsis, equivalent to sym- sym- + biō (variant stem of bioûn “to live”) + -sis -sis

Explanation

Symbiosis, a noun, tells about the relationship between living things that helps all of them stay alive, like the symbiosis between bees that eat nectar from flowers that get cross-pollinated when the bees move from one to the next. To correctly pronounce symbiosis, accent the third syllable: "sim-be-OH-sis." The prefix syn comes from the Greek word "together" and bios means "life." So symbiosis means "a living together." Things that live in symbiosis depend on one another, like the clown fish and anemone that protect one another from ocean predators, or the symbiosis between a dairy farmer and one who grows hay, trading milk for hay bales that feed the cows.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

symbiosis symbioses

Located at the bottom of the world, it’s hard to imagine a place more closely connected to nature, where New Zealand’s Māori communities have long lived in symbiosis with the land.

From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026

"The ocean is especially rich in these partnerships, and the toadfish-vibrio symbiosis potentially linked to calcium carbonate production is a striking new example."

From Science Daily ● May 31, 2026

"I think there's a really nice symbiosis between the two of them, but honestly a lot of it is work, it's connecting off the pitch, it's preparation and it's understanding what they see."

From BBC ● May 23, 2026

Studios and theaters have long operated in an uneasy symbiosis.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 27, 2026

There is no spiritual symbiosis; I'm just a petty thief who lifts his memories the same way I’ll take a handful of change left on his dresser.

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris

Phage interactions with bacteria are well known, and interactions between bacteria and their mammalian host can lead to a range of symbioses.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2023

It's impossible take a walk in the woods, eat a meal, or dip in the ocean, without participating in the deep symbioses that have nourished life's plenitude.

From Salon ● May 30, 2021

It is one of the oldest and most successful symbioses in nature, said Toby Spribille, a lichen expert at the University of Graz in Austria, and the lead author of the new paper.

From New York Times ● Jul. 21, 2016

Fungi are also involved in ecologically important coevolved symbioses, both mutually beneficial and pathogenic with organisms from the other kingdoms.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 25, 2013

In the 1960s Lynn Margulis posited that the mitochondria in our cells and chloroplasts in plant cells were relictual bacteria, evidence of ancient symbioses.

From Scientific American ● Nov. 22, 2012

Related Words

• body
• existence
• growth
• living
• man
• person
• soul
• survival
• woman