Meaning & use
biology
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Meanings
noununcountable
The scientific study of living things and their structure, function, growth, origin, and relationships.
Grammar: Names a school subject and field of science; do not use a plural for the general field.
Patterns
- study biology
- teach biology
- molecular biology
- human biology
Biology explains how vaccines train the immune system.
She chose biology because she enjoys fieldwork.
The course covers cell biology and genetics.
nouncountable or uncountabletechnical
The living processes or characteristics of a particular organism, system, or environment.
Grammar: Used with of and a specific subject; plural is rare and technical.
Patterns
- the biology of something
- cell biology
- marine biology
- the biology of aging
The article examines the biology of sleep.
Marine biology is threatened by warming seas.
Doctors studied the biology of the tumor before treatment.
Common combinations
- study biology
- He studies biology and chemistry on alternating days.
- molecular biology
- Molecular biology changed how scientists diagnose disease.
- human biology
- The course begins with human biology and nutrition.
- biology teacher
- Our biology teacher keeps a terrarium in the lab.
- cell biology
- Cell biology explains how wounds repair themselves.
- biology of aging
- Researchers discussed the biology of aging at the forum.
Synonyms and how they differ
- life sciences
- Life sciences is broader, including medicine-related fields; biology is the core school and university subject.
- botany
- Botany is only the study of plants, one branch of biology.
- zoology
- Zoology is only the study of animals, not the whole field.
- ecology
- Ecology studies organisms in relation to environment; biology covers the wider study of life.
Word family
- biological adjective
- Relating to biology or living processes.
- biologist noun
- A scientist who studies biology.
- biologically adverb
- In a way related to living processes.
- biome noun
- A large ecological community, related in meaning though not formed directly from biology.
Commonly confused: biology or biography? biology or geology?
biology vs biography
Biography is a written life story; biology is the science of living things.
biology vs geology
Geology studies rocks and Earth's structure, while biology studies living organisms.
Practice
Which field best matches this sentence: Researchers track how bird flu spreads among wild ducks.
Choose one answer.
The sentence concerns living organisms and disease transmission, which is biology; biography is life writing, geology is Earth materials, and sociology studies human societies.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “biology”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.