organism

[ awr-guh-niz-uhm ]

noun

1. a form of life composed of mutually interdependent parts that maintain various vital processes.
2. a form of life considered as an entity; an animal, plant, fungus, protistan, or moneran.
3. any organized organized body or system conceived of as analogous to a living being:

   the governmental organism.

4. any complex thing or system having properties and functions determined not only by the properties and relations of its individual parts, but by the character of the whole that they compose and by the relations of the parts to the whole.

   Synonyms: structure, entity, network, organization

organism

/ ˈɔːɡəˌnɪzəm /

noun

1. any living biological entity, such as an animal, plant, fungus, or bacterium
2. anything resembling a living creature in structure, behaviour, etc

organism

/ ôr′gə-nĭz′əm /

1. An individual form of life that is capable of growing, metabolizing nutrients, and usually reproducing. Organisms can be unicellular or multicellular. They are scientifically divided into five different groups (called kingdoms) that include prokaryotes, protists, fungi, plants, and animals, and that are further subdivided based on common ancestry and homology of anatomic and molecular structures.

Derived Forms

• ˌorganˈismally, adverb
• ˌorganˈismal, adjective

Other Words From

• organ·ismic organ·ismal adjective
• organ·ismi·cal·ly adverb
• super·organ·ism noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of organism¹

First recorded in 1655–65; organ + -ism

Example Sentences

The mega coral - which is a collection of many connected, tiny creatures that together form one organism rather than a reef - could be more than 300 years old.

From BBC

‘Lifeform’ is me trying to say, this is the form of my life,” whether that be the ebb and flow of existence, or the acknowledgment of being but one tiny organism that makes up the universe.

From Los Angeles Times

"To understand and manage the effects of climate change on biodiversity, we must integrate knowledge on biologically relevant processes for different types of organism in different habitats," the authors explain.

From Salon

Now, in bacteria — which are a type of prokaryote, or single-celled organism — a lot of evolution happens by horizontal gene transfer.

From Salon

This occurs when genetic material is incorporated into an organism’s genome in some way other than through reproduction.

From Salon

Related Words

• animal
• creature
• structure