anaerobic
adj.adj. describing a process or living thing that does not need oxygen to survive or work. You often hear this word when talking about bacteria or exercise.
adj. relating to or occurring in the absence of oxygen. Often describes biological processes or organisms that thrive in oxygen-deprived environments.
Some bacteria are anaerobic and live deep in the soil.
The athlete performed anaerobic exercises to build muscle strength and improve her sprinting speed.
In the absence of oxygen, the muscle cells switch to anaerobic respiration, a process that produces energy quickly but results in the accumulation of lactic acid.
From French anaérobie, from Ancient Greek ἀν- (an-, “not”) + ἀήρ (aḗr, “air”) + βίος (bíos, “life”) + -ic. By surface analysis, an- + aerobic.