tropism

[ troh-piz-uhm ]

nounBiology.
  1. an orientation of an organism to an external stimulus, as light, especially by growth rather than by movement.

Origin of tropism

1
First recorded in 1895–1900; independent use of -tropism

Other words from tropism

  • tro·pis·mat·ic [troh-piz-mat-ik], /ˌtroʊ pɪzˈmæt ɪk/, adjective
  • tro·pis·tic [troh-pis-tik], /troʊˈpɪs tɪk/, adjective

Other definitions for -tropism (2 of 2)

-tropism

  1. variant of -tropy.

Origin of -tropism

2
see origin at -tropy, -ism

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use tropism in a sentence

  • The workers, on the other hand, who have to be in and out of the nest about their business, do not have this tropism.

    Natural Wonders | Edwin Tenney Brewster
  • Nevertheless this is the psycho-tropism of science to all "thunderstones" said to have fallen luminously.

    The Book of the Damned | Charles Fort

British Dictionary definitions for tropism (1 of 2)

tropism

/ (ˈtrəʊpɪzəm) /


noun
  1. the response of an organism, esp a plant, to an external stimulus by growth in a direction determined by the stimulus

Origin of tropism

1
from Greek tropos a turn

Derived forms of tropism

  • tropismatic, adjective
  • tropistic (trəʊˈpɪstɪk), adjective

British Dictionary definitions for -tropism (2 of 2)

-tropism

n combining form
  1. indicating a tendency to turn or develop in response to a certain stimulus: phototropism

Origin of -tropism

2
from Greek tropos a turn

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

Scientific definitions for tropism

tropism

[ trōpĭz′əm ]


  1. The growth or movement of a living organism or anatomical structure toward or away from an external stimulus, such as light, heat, or gravity. See also geotropism hydrotropism phototropism.

Other words from tropism

  • tropistic adjective

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.