Metabolism - Definitions from Dictionary.com

8 results for: Metabolism

2008's Top 10 Fat Burners You Can Lose 30 Pounds In 30 Days? Discover What Will Work For You! DietPillInstitute.com/FatBurning	Sponsored Links

Hoodia & Advantra-Z Increase energy & suppress appetite with a Patented weight loss formula www.miracleburn.com

Increase Your Metabolism? Discover How To Turbo-Charge Your Ability To Burn Fat. Fast www.TheMetabolismSecret.com

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

me·tab·o·lism

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.

[Origin: 1875–80; < Gk metabol() change (meta- meta- + bol a throw) + -ism

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

2008's Top 10 Fat Burners You Can Lose 30 Pounds In 30 Days? Discover What Will Work For You! DietPillInstitute.com/FatBurning	Sponsored Links

Hoodia & Advantra-Z Increase energy & suppress appetite with a Patented weight loss formula www.miracleburn.com

Increase Your Metabolism? Discover How To Turbo-Charge Your Ability To Burn Fat. Fast www.TheMetabolismSecret.com

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Metabolism

To learn more about Metabolism visit Britannica.com

Speed Up Your Metabolism Eat more and exercise less. 6 Week Body Makeover Official Site. www.MyBodyMakeover.com	Sponsored Links

Increase your Metabolism Amazing Chinese Weight Loss Secret As Seen On CNN, NBC, CBS & Fox News www.officialwuyitea.com/

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

me·tab·o·lism Audio Help (mĭ-tāb'ə-lĭz'əm) Pronunciation Key
n.

The chemical processes occurring within a living cell or organism that are necessary for the maintenance of life. In metabolism some substances are broken down to yield energy for vital processes while other substances, necessary for life, are synthesized.
The processing of a specific substance within the living body: water metabolism; iodine metabolism.

[From Greek metabolē, change, from metaballein, to change : meta-, meta- + ballein, to throw; see g^welə- in Indo-European roots.]

(Download Now or Buy the Book)

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
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."

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

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

The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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.

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
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

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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 - Cite This Source - Share This

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).

Browse Nearby Entries: