ecosystem
n. countablen. all the plants, animals, and physical surroundings in a specific area working together. You use this word to describe how living things depend on each other to survive.
n. a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment. The term is frequently extended to describe any complex network of interconnected elements, such as a suite of software products.
The forest is a complex ecosystem full of life.
Introducing a new predator into the lake can completely destroy the local ecosystem by wiping out native fish.
The company has built a highly profitable digital ecosystem, ensuring that once users buy their smartphone, they are seamlessly locked into purchasing their software and services.
From eco- + system. Coined by English botanist Arthur Tansley in 1935 in a paper titled The Use and Abuse of Vegetational Concepts in the journal Ecology.