me·tab·o·lism
Audio Help [muh-tab-uh-liz-uh
m] Pronunciation Key
Audio Help [muh-tab-uh-liz-uh
m] Pronunciation Key –noun
| 1. | Biology, Physiology. the sum of the physical and chemical processes in an organism by which its material substance is produced, maintained, and destroyed, and by which energy is made available. Compare anabolism, catabolism. |
| 2. | any basic process of organic functioning or operating: changes in the country's economic metabolism. |
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
Metabolism
To learn more about Metabolism visit Britannica.com
| © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |
| me·tab·o·lism
Audio Help (mĭ-tāb'ə-lĭz'əm) Pronunciation Key
n.
[From Greek metabolē, change, from metaballein, to change : meta-, meta- + ballein, to throw; see gwelə- in Indo-European roots.] |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
metabolism
in physiology sense, 1878, from Fr. métabolisme, from Gk. metabole "change," from metaballein "to change," from meta- "over" + ballein "to throw." Metabolic is first attested 1845 in this sense, from Ger. metabolisch (1839). The word is attested from 1743 with the lit. sense of "involving change."
| Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper |
| metabolism | |
noun | |
| 1. | the marked and rapid transformation of a larva into an adult that occurs in some animals [syn: metamorphosis] |
| 2. | the organic processes (in a cell or organism) that are necessary for life |
| WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University. |
| metabolism
Audio Help (mĭ-tāb'ə-lĭz'əm) Pronunciation Key
The chemical processes by which cells produce the substances and energy needed to sustain life. As part of metabolism, organic compounds are broken down to provide heat and energy in the process called catabolism. Simpler molecules are also used to build more complex compounds like proteins for growth and repair of tissues as part of anabolism. Many metabolic processes are brought about by the action of enzymes. The overall speed at which an organism carries out its metabolic processes is termed its metabolic rate (or, when the organism is at rest, its basal metabolic rate). Birds, for example, have a high metabolic rate, since they are warm-blooded, and their usual method of locomotion, flight, requires large amounts of energy. Accordingly, birds usually need large amounts of high-quality, energy-rich foods such as seeds or meat, which they must eat frequently. See more at cellular respiration. metabolic adjective (mět'ə-bŏl'ĭk) |
| The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
metabolism [(muh-tab-uh-liz-uhm)]
The total of the chemical reactions that maintain the life of a living thing.
Note: In humans, metabolism is related to the intake and use of food; persons with a high metabolism can eat more without gaining weight.
[Chapter:] Life Sciences
| The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
Metabolism
Mes"o*state\, n. [Meso- + Gr. ? to make to stand.] (Physiol.) A product of metabolic action. Note: Every mesostate is either an anastate or katastate, according as it is formed by an anabolic or katabolic process. See Metabolism.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Metabolism
Me*tab"o*lism\, n. (Physiol.) The act or process, by which living tissues or cells take up and convert into their own proper substance the nutritive material brought to them by the blood, or by which they transform their cell protoplasm into simpler substances, which are fitted either for excretion or for some special purpose, as in the manufacture of the digestive ferments. Hence, metabolism may be either constructive (anabolism), or destructive (katabolism).| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
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