antibiosis
|an-ti-bi-o-sis|
🇺🇸
/ˌæn.tɪˈbaɪ.oʊ.sɪs/
🇬🇧
/ˌæn.tɪˈbaɪ.əʊ.sɪs/
life against life; inhibitory interaction between organisms
Etymology
'antibiosis' originates from New Latin, specifically the word 'antibiosis', where 'anti-' meant 'against' and 'bios' meant 'life'.
'antibiosis' changed from the Greek components 'anti' + 'bios' into New Latin 'antibiosis' and eventually became the modern English word 'antibiosis'.
Initially it meant 'opposition to life' or 'against life processes', but over time it evolved into its current biological meaning of 'an inhibitory interaction between organisms (especially microorganisms)'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a biological interaction in which one organism is inhibited or destroyed by another; antagonistic association between organisms (especially microorganisms) that results in inhibition of growth.
The antibiosis between soil bacteria helped suppress the plant pathogen.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/08/27 23:15