Meaning & use
symbiotic
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivebefore a nounbiology
Describing two different living things that live closely together and each gain something useful from the arrangement.
Grammar: Usually sits before the noun: a symbiotic relationship, not a relationship that is symbiotic.
Patterns
- symbiotic relationship between something and something
Clownfish and sea anemones have a symbiotic partnership: the fish gain shelter and the anemone gets cleaned.
Lichens are symbiotic organisms made of a fungus and an alga.
The bacteria in our gut are symbiotic, helping us digest food while receiving a home.
adjectivecomparablefigurative
Describing a relationship between people, groups or businesses in which each side depends on the other and benefits from it.
Grammar: Works before a noun or after a verb: a symbiotic bond, or the bond is symbiotic.
Patterns
- symbiotic relationship with someone
- be symbiotic
The bakery and the café next door have a symbiotic arrangement, sharing customers and deliveries.
Their friendship was symbiotic: she supplied the ideas and he made them happen.
Universities and local industry often form a symbiotic link.
Common combinations
- symbiotic relationship
- The tree and the fungus share a symbiotic relationship underground.
- symbiotic partnership
- The two firms built a symbiotic partnership over ten years.
- symbiotic bond
- A symbiotic bond tied the old farmer to his hired hand.
- mutually symbiotic
- Theirs was a mutually symbiotic arrangement that suited both.
- symbiotic organism
- Corals host symbiotic organisms that give them their color.
Synonyms and how they differ
- mutually beneficial
- This is a plain-English phrase that can describe any deal, whereas symbiotic suggests a deep, ongoing dependence.
- interdependent
- It stresses that each side needs the other, but does not say that both profit as symbiotic does.
- cooperative
- It is broader and softer, describing people working together without implying they cannot do without each other.
Opposites
Word family
- symbiosis noun
- a close relationship in which both sides benefit
- symbiont noun
- one of the organisms in a symbiotic pair
- symbiotically adverb
- in a symbiotic way
Commonly confused: symbiotic or parasitic?
symbiotic vs parasitic
In a parasitic relationship only one side gains and the other is harmed, while a symbiotic one helps both.
Practice
Which sentence uses symbiotic correctly?
Choose one answer.
Bees get nectar and plants get pollinated, so both benefit. The tick harms its host, which is parasitic, and the other two sentences misuse the word.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “symbiotic”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.