Meaning & use
organic
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a noun
Grown or raised without man-made chemical sprays or fertilizers, or sold as food produced in that way.
Grammar: Usually comes before a noun: organic eggs.
Patterns
- organic food
- organic farming
We buy organic vegetables from a farm outside town.
The label says the milk is organic.
She switched to organic cotton sheets last year.
adjectivebefore a nountechnical
Coming from or relating to living things, or to chemical compounds built on carbon.
Grammar: Used in science, as in organic matter or organic compounds.
Patterns
- organic matter
- organic compound
Dead leaves add organic matter to the soil.
Organic chemistry studies compounds that contain carbon.
The probe searched the rock for organic molecules.
adjectivecomparablefigurative
Developing naturally and gradually, without being forced or planned in a rigid way.
Grammar: Often figurative: organic growth, an organic process.
Patterns
- organic growth
- an organic process
The company prefers organic growth to buying rivals.
Their friendship developed in an organic way over many years.
The story felt organic, as if each scene led naturally to the next.
Common combinations
- organic farming
- Organic farming avoids most artificial pesticides.
- organic produce
- The market sells fresh organic produce on Saturdays.
- organic matter
- Compost turns kitchen scraps into organic matter.
- organic growth
- The firm reported strong organic growth this quarter.
- certified organic
- The honey is certified organic.
- organic chemistry
- She is studying organic chemistry at university.
Synonyms and how they differ
- natural
- Natural is much looser, since a product can be called natural with no official check, while organic often has legal standards behind it.
- chemical-free
- Chemical-free is an informal claim and is technically misleading, because organic farming can still use some approved substances.
- gradual
- Gradual only describes speed of change, while organic also suggests the change comes from within and feels unforced.
- biological
- Biological relates to living things in general, whereas organic in food talks about how it was grown.
Opposites
Word family
- organically adverb
- in an organic way
- organism noun
- a living thing
- organ noun
- a body part with a job
- organics noun
- organic foods or products
Commonly confused: organic or inorganic?
organic vs inorganic
Inorganic means not made from living matter, like minerals and metals; it is the scientific opposite of organic.
Practice
In which sentence does 'organic' mean 'developing naturally'?
Choose one answer.
The third sentence describes natural gradual development. The others refer to farming methods or to chemistry.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “organic”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.