Meaning & use

symbiotic

adjective·Academic

Describing a close, mutually beneficial relationship between two different organisms or parties.

See it in a sentence

Bees and flowering plants have a symbiotic relationship, each depending on the other to survive.

The partnership between the two companies became increasingly symbiotic over the years.

A note on using this word

Symbiotic originates in biology, describing organisms living together for mutual benefit, but is now widely used figuratively for cooperative human relationships.

Words with a similar meaning

mutually beneficialinterdependent

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “symbiotic”, then compare your use with the examples above.

Your draft stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.