bio

¹

[ bahy-oh ]

noun

, plural bi·os.

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

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

combining_form

1. indicating or involving life or living organisms

   biogenesis

   biolysis

2. indicating a human life or career

   biopic

   biography

bio

²

/ ˈbaɪəʊ /

noun

1. short for biography

Word History and Origins

Origin of bio¹

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

Origin of bio²

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of bio¹

from Greek bios life

Example Sentences

He has worked in law enforcement in Florida for 32 years, according to his official bio, and he has served as the top law enforcement officer in Hillsborough County, Florida, since 2017.

From BBC

“The best part about this,” Foster said, “is that he’s a former walk-on and he’s a bio engineering major.”

From Los Angeles Times

Gaetz summarized his time in Congress — and its quick end — in a pithy bio on Cameo.

From Salon

Uvax Bio, a spin-off vaccine company from Scripps Research, employs proprietary platform technology invented in Zhu's lab to develop and commercialize prophylactic vaccines for various infectious diseases.

From Science Daily

It’s then posted by an X account which has Stake tagged in its bio.

From Slate

Related Words

• account
• anecdote
• autobiography
• biography
• chronicle
• diary
• essay
• journal
• life
• life story
• memory
• narrative
• note
• recollection
• reminiscence
• thesis
• treatise

Words That Use bio-

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-.

Examples of bio-

An example of a word you may have encountered that features bio– is biography, “a written account of another person’s life.” Biography comes from Greek biographía, which uses the equivalent of the form in the language.

We know bio– means “life,” while the –graphy portion of the word refers to “writing,” from Greek –graphia. Biography literally translates to “life writing.”

What are some words that use the combining form bio-?

• bioactive
• bioaeronautics
• biobank
• biobehavioral
• biobibliography
• biocentric
• biocide
• biocycle
• biodegradable
• biodiesel
• biodot
• biodynamic
• bioecology
• bioelectricity
• bioenergy
• bioflavonoid
• biofog
• biofuel
• biogas
• biogenic
• biohazard
• bioherm
• biology (using the equivalent form of bio– in German)
• biometry
• biomorph
• biopolymer
• biorhythm
• bioscope
• biosphere
• biotech
• biotope (using the equivalent form of bio– in German)
• biowarfare
• bioweapon

What are some other forms that bio- may be commonly confused with?

• biblio-
• bin-

Break it down!

The combining form –logy is used to name branches of science or areas of study. With this in mind, what does biology literally mean?