Added 7 October 2026
metabolism
/mɪˈtab.ə.lɪz.əm/ noun
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about metabolism at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
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The chemical processes that occur within a living organism in order to maintain life.
The metabolisms of aerobic bacteria require oxygen
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The rate at which these processes occur for a given organism
Small animals have a much higher metabolism than large animals because they lose more body heat
- The processes that maintain any dynamic system.
Origin
From Ancient Greek μεταβολή (metabolḗ, “change”) + -ism, from μεταβάλλω (metabállō, “to change, to alter”) + -η (-ē, action noun suffix).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)