Word
ecology
Phoneticsecol·o·gy
US/iˈkɑɫədʒi/
UK/ɛkˈɒlədʒi/
Definitions
01biological science
n. the branch of biology that looks at how living things interact with their surroundings.
n. the scientific study of the distribution and abundance of organisms and their interactions with the environment.
“She decided to study ecology because she wanted to help protect the local wetlands.”
“Advanced research in ecology often requires a sophisticated understanding of how minor temperature shifts affect the reproductive cycles of native insects.”
Academic
Usage
Often used as an uncountable noun when referring to the academic field.
Synonyms
02a specific environment
n. the set of relationships between the living things in a particular area.
n. the totality or pattern of relationships between organisms and their environment in a specific location.
“The oil spill caused terrible damage to the delicate ecology of the coastline.”
“The introduction of invasive species can rapidly destabilise the local ecology, leading to the extinction of vulnerable native plants.”
Synonyms
03system of relationships
n. the way different parts of a complex system, like a business or a city, work together.
n. a complex system of interconnected parts, often used metaphorically to describe social or technical environments.
“The city's business ecology depends on both large companies and small shops.”
“The digital ecology of the modern workplace has been transformed by the integration of cloud-based collaboration tools and remote access protocols.”
Academic
Real-World Examples
“James, whose research focuses on the ecology of whales and dolphins.” “That’s because of the way tick ecology works: Their location is tied to where their hosts are.” Etymology
Calque of German Ökologie (coined in 1866 by Ernst Haeckel), from Ancient Greek οἶκος (oîkos, “house”) + -λογία (-logía, “study of”). By surface analysis, eco- + -logy.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
Domain
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/ecology