biomarker

American

[bahy-oh-mahr-ker] / ˈbaɪ oʊˌmɑr kər /

noun

a distinct biochemical, genetic, or molecular characteristic or substance that is an indicator of a particular biological condition or process.

a blood test to measure protein biomarkers for cancer.

biomarker British

/ ˈbaɪəʊˌmɑːkə /

noun

another name for biological marker

"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

Etymology

Origin of biomarker

First recorded in 1970–75; bio- ( def. ) + marker ( def. )

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The results point to hypoalbuminemia as a biomarker that could help doctors identify people at high risk of developing this aggressive infection.

From Science Daily • Mar. 3, 2026

But FDA said in its rejection letter that it isn’t certain this biomarker would predict a clinical benefit.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 24, 2026

To evaluate real world performance, the researchers focused on miR-21, a microRNA biomarker associated with lung cancer.

From Science Daily • Feb. 16, 2026

At the International Working Group, a global consortium of neurologists and researchers, its criteria requires three things: the presence of amyloid; tau, another biomarker of Alzheimer’s disease; and cognitive symptoms.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 10, 2026

The results suggest that measuring DNA repeat expansion in blood could serve as a useful biomarker for evaluating future treatments designed to slow repeat growth in diseases such as Huntington's.

From Science Daily • Jan. 9, 2026

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