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bio

1 American  
[bahy-oh] / ˈbaɪ oʊ /

noun

plural

bios

  1. biography.

  2. biology.

adjective

  1. biographical.

  2. biological.

    a bio control service using praying mantises to reduce the population of garden pests.
bio- 2 American  

  1. a combining form meaning “life” occurring in loanwords from Greek (biography ); on this model, used in the formation of compound words (bioluminescence ).

bio- 1 British  

combining form

  1. indicating or involving life or living organisms

    biogenesis

    biolysis

  2. indicating a human life or career

    biography

    biopic
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
bio 2 British  
/ ˈbaɪəʊ /

noun

  1. short for biography

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Usage

What does bio- mean? The combining form bio- is used like a prefix meaning “life.” It is often used in scientific terms, especially in biology.The form bio- comes from Greek bíos, meaning “life.” The Latin cognate of bíos is vīta, “life,” which is the source of words such as vital. Find out more at our entry for vital.What are variants of bio-?When combined with words or word elements that begin with a vowel, bio- becomes bi-, as in biome. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use article for bi-.

Etymology

Origin of bio1

1945–50; by shortening; as adj., independent use of bio-, taken as a free form

Origin of bio-2

Combining form of Greek bíos life; akin to Latin vīvus living, Sanskrit jīvas. See quick

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.