Word
abiotic
Phoneticsabi·ot·ic
Definition
adj. describing things in nature that are not living, like soil, water, or air. These factors affect how plants and animals survive.
adj. relating to non-living components of an ecosystem or environment. Often used in ecological contexts to describe physical or chemical factors that influence living organisms.
Examples
“The plant needs abiotic factors like sunlight and water to grow.”
“Scientists study how changes in abiotic factors, such as temperature and pH, affect the local biodiversity.”
“While biotic interactions like predation are well understood, the impact of abiotic stressors on coral reef resilience remains a critical area of research for marine biologists.”
Examples
simple
“The plant needs abiotic factors like sunlight and water to grow.”
contextual
“Scientists study how changes in abiotic factors, such as temperature and pH, affect the local biodiversity.”
complex
“While biotic interactions like predation are well understood, the impact of abiotic stressors on coral reef resilience remains a critical area of research for marine biologists.”
Real-World Examples
“The review examined fungal species that have already been shown to support plant growth by improving nutrient uptake, including under abiotic (non-living organism) stress.” Etymology
First attested in 1874. From a- + biotic, the first element from Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-) and the second from Ancient Greek βιωτικός (biōtikós, “of life”), from βίος (bíos, “life”) + -ῐκός (-ĭkós).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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englishreference.com/q/abiotic