English Reference

Word

ecology

Phoneticsecol·o·gy

US/iˈkɑɫədʒi/

UK/ɛkˈɒlədʒi/

Definitions

01biological science

B2 · 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

environmental sciencebionomics

02a specific environment

B2 · Science

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.”

03system of relationships

C1

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.”
Phys.org · 15 Aug 2026
“That’s because of the way tick ecology works: Their location is tied to where their hosts are.”
Smithsonian Magazine · 31 Jul 2026

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

Biology

This entry

Level
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency
Frequent
Updated

Scan code

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English Reference