metabolism

noun me·tab·o·lism \mə-ˈta-bə-ˌli-zəm\

biology : the chemical processes by which a plant or an animal uses food, water, etc., to grow and heal and to make energy

Full Definition of METABOLISM

b : the sum of the processes by which a particular substance is handled in the living body

c : the sum of the metabolic activities taking place in a particular environment <the metabolism of a lake>

: metamorphosis 2 —usually used in combination <holometabolism>

See metabolism defined for English-language learners

See metabolism defined for kids

Origin of METABOLISM

International Scientific Vocabulary, from Greek metabolē change, from metaballein to change, from meta- + ballein to throw — more at devil

First Known Use: 1878

Other Biochemistry Terms

bile, biodegradable, capsaicin, keratin

Rhymes with METABOLISM

absenteeism, absolutism, abstractionism, adventurism, aestheticism, Afrocentrism, agnosticism, alcoholism, amateurism, anabaptism, anachronism, Anglicanism, animalism, antagonism, Arianism, astigmatism, athleticism, automatism, behaviorism, Big Brotherism, bilingualism, Bonapartism, cannibalism, capitalism, Cartesianism, Catholicism, charlatanism, collectivism, commercialism, communalism, Confucianism, conservatism, constructivism, consumerism, corporatism, creationism, determinism, do-nothingism, eclecticism, ecotourism, ecumenism, egocentrism, empiricism, epicurism, eroticism, essentialism, ethnocentrism, evangelism, exoticism, expansionism, expressionism, Fabianism, factionalism, fanaticism, favoritism, federalism, Fenianism, feuilletonism, Fourierism, fraternalism, Freudianism, funambulism, functionalism, hermeticism, Hispanicism, historicism, hooliganism, illiberalism, illusionism, impressionism, infantilism, inflationism, initialism, insularism, irredentism, Jacobinism, Keynesianism, know-nothingism, lesbianism, liberalism, libertinism, literalism, Lutheranism, Lysenkoism, magic realism, malapropism, mercantilism, messianism, metamorphism, militarism, minimalism, monasticism, monotheism, mutualism, naturalism, Naziritism, negativism, neologism, neo-Nazism, neorealism, nominalism, nonconformism, objectivism, obscurantism, obstructionism, opportunism, pacificism, parallelism, pastoralism, paternalism, patriotism, Peeping Tomism, perfectionism, photo-realism, plebeianism, polytheism, positivism, postmodernism, primitivism, progressivism, protectionism, Protestantism, provincialism, puritanism, radicalism, rationalism, recidivism, reductionism, regionalism, relativism, revisionism, revivalism, ritualism, romanticism, salvationism, sansculottism, scholasticism, sectionalism, secularism, separatism, serialism, Slavophilism, somnambulism, Stakhanovism, structuralism, subjectivism, teetotalism, theocentrism, triumphalism, Uncle Tomism, ventriloquism, vigilantism, workaholism

METABOLISM Defined for Kids

metabolism

noun me·tab·o·lism \mə-ˈta-bə-ˌli-zəm\

Definition of METABOLISM for Kids

: the processes by which a living organism uses food to obtain energy and build tissue and disposes of waste material

Medical Dictionary

metabolism

noun me·tab·o·lism \mə-ˈtab-ə-ˌliz-əm\

Medical Definition of METABOLISM

a : the sum of the processes in the buildup and destruction of protoplasm; specifically : the chemical changes in living cells by which energy is provided for vital processes and activities and new material is assimilated <methods of determining body and tissue metabolism—Bulletin of the University of Kentucky>—see anabolism, catabolism b : the sum of the processes by which a particular substance is handled (as by assimilation and incorporation or by detoxification and excretion) in the living body <the metabolism of iodine in the thyroid>

: metamorphosis 2—usually used in combination <holometabolism>