biochemical

American  

[bahy-oh-kem-i-kuhl] / ˌbaɪ oʊˈkɛm ɪ kəl /

adjective

1. Rarely biochemic of or relating to the science dealing with the chemistry of living matter.

   Accurate biochemical results depend on maintaining the integrity of blood samples until analyses can be completed.

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noun

1. a chemical existing in or obtained from living matter, or used in processes dealing with living matter.

   All the substances mentioned are biochemicals present in the human body.

Other Word Forms

• biochemically
  adverb

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Etymology

Origin of biochemical

bio- ( def. ) + chemical ( def. )

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Explanation

Something that's biochemical relates to chemical processes that occur in living beings, like the chemical reactions in your body. You're most likely to come across the word biochemical in a science class. Biochemical processes occur in living organisms. For example, the way your body converts food into energy is biochemical, as is the way your body fights disease and responds to drugs. The word biochemistry comes from the German biochemisch, and both words combine the Greek bio, "one's life," and chemical, "relating to chemistry."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

biochemical

What scientists still need to establish is whether those biochemical differences translate into important differences in long-term health.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026

The images showed that RNA polymerase identifies the synthetic DNA letters using many of the same biochemical and structural signals it relies on to recognize natural base pairs.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 5, 2026

Researchers in the Food Microbial Sciences Unit at the University of Reading tracked the microbial and biochemical changes that occurred as three locally made Oxfordshire cheeses matured.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026

The researchers now plan to study uranium-binding bacteria in greater detail and investigate the biochemical and geochemical processes that make the transformation possible.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 9, 2026

Soon, however, I abandoned thinking at the molecular level and turned to the much easier job of reading biochemical papers on the interrelations of DNA, RNA, and protein synthesis.

From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson

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