metabolism
nounattested in dialogue
- United Kingdom//mɪˈtab.ə.lɪz.əm//
- United Kingdom/[mɪˈtab.ə.lɪz.m̩]/
- United States//məˈtæb.əˌlɪz.əm//
- United States/[məˈtæb.əˌlɪz.m̩]/
- Australia//mɪˈtæb.ə.lɪz.əm//
The chemical processes that occur within a living organism in order to maintain life.
noun
- 1
The chemical processes that occur within a living organism in order to maintain life.
The metabolisms of aerobic bacteria require oxygen
- 2
The rate at which these processes occur for a given organism
Small animals have a much higher metabolism than large animals because they lose more body heat
- 3
figurativeThe processes that maintain any dynamic system.
The results of this generalized speedup of the corporate metabolism are multiple: shorter product life cycles, more leasing and renting, more frequent buying and selling, more ephemeral consumption patterns, […]
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *me Proto-Indo-European *meth₂? Ancient Greek μετᾰ́ (metắ) Ancient Greek μετα- (meta-) Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH-der. Proto-Hellenic *gʷəlnō Ancient Greek βάλλω (bállō) Ancient Greek μεταβάλλω (metabállō) Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Hellenic *-ā́ Ancient Greek -ᾱ (-ā) Ancient Greek -η (-ē) Ancient Greek μετᾰβολή (metăbolḗ) Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íďďō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō) Proto-Indo-European *-mos Proto-Indo-European *-mós Ancient Greek -μός (-mós) Ancient Greek -ισμός (-ismós)der. English -ism English metabolism From Ancient Greek μεταβολή (metabolḗ, “change”) + -ism, from μεταβάλλω (metabállō, “to change, to alter”) + -η (-ē, action noun suffix).
Forms
- plural
- metabolisms
metabolism · The chemical processes that occur within a living organism in order to maintain life.
Metabolism · A post-war Japanese architectural movement that fused ideas…metal · Chemical elements or alloys, their ores, and the mines where…metallic · Of, relating to, or characteristic of metal.