Meaning & use
food web
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Meaning
nouncountable
A network of interconnected food chains that shows how energy and nutrients pass between many species in an ecosystem.
Grammar: Countable; use 'a food web' for one network or 'food webs' for more than one. Often used in biology lessons.
Patterns
- a food web in an ecosystem
- the food web of a forest
In a pond, the food web includes algae, small fish, and herons.
Scientists study the food web to understand how pollution affects many animals at once.
If one species disappears, the whole food web can be disturbed.
Word forms
| plural | food webs |
|---|
Common combinations
- marine food web
- The marine food web starts with tiny plankton.
- part of the food web
- Frogs are an important part of the food web in wetlands.
- disrupt the food web
- Overfishing can disrupt the food web in the ocean.
- study the food web
- Students study the food web to see how animals depend on each other.
Synonyms and how they differ
- food chain
- A food chain is a single, simple line of who eats whom, while a food web shows many connected chains together.
Word family
- food chain noun
- A simple sequence of organisms where each is eaten by the next.
Commonly confused: food web or food chain?
food web vs food chain
A food chain is one path, like grass → rabbit → fox; a food web combines many such paths into a network.
Practice
In biology, what does a food web show?
Choose one answer.
A food web is a network of many food chains, not just one line. Option 0 describes a food chain, which is simpler.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “food web”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.