Standard Lemma guide

autotroph

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • UK: /ˈɔːtə(ʊ)tɹəʊf/
  • US: /ˈɔtəˌtɹoʊf/

1

noun

Meaning 1

Any organism that can synthesize its food from inorganic substances, using heat or light as a source of energy.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: biology, ecology, natural-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

plant capable of synthesizing its own food from simple organic substances

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: autophyte, autophytic plant, autotrophic organism

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: plant, flora, plant life

History

Etymology

From auto- (from Ancient Greek αὐτο- (auto-, “self-”)) + -troph (from Ancient Greek τροφή (trophḗ, “nourishment”)).

Across languages

Translations

22 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: autòtrof — organism that can synthesize its food
  • Chinese Mandarin: 自營生物 /自营生物 (zìyíng shēngwù) — organism that can synthesize its food
  • Chinese Mandarin: 自養生物 /自养生物 (zìyǎng shēngwù) — organism that can synthesize its food
  • Dutch: autotroof — organism that can synthesize its food
  • Finnish: tuottaja — organism that can synthesize its food
  • Finnish: autotrofi — organism that can synthesize its food
  • French: autotrophe — organism that can synthesize its food
  • German: Autotroph — organism that can synthesize its food
  • Indonesian: autotrof — organism that can synthesize its food
  • Irish: uatrófach — organism that can synthesize its food
  • Italian: autrofia — organism that can synthesize its food
  • Italian: autotrofo — organism that can synthesize its food
  • Japanese: 独立栄養生物 (dokuritsu eiyō seibutsu) — organism that can synthesize its food
  • Kazakh: автотроф (avtotrof) — organism that can synthesize its food
  • Khmer: ស្វ័យជីព (svai jip) — organism that can synthesize its food
  • Korean: 독립영양생물 (dongnibyeong'yangsaengmul) — organism that can synthesize its food
  • Northern Kurdish: berhemhêner — organism that can synthesize its food
  • Māori: pūkame — organism that can synthesize its food
  • Polish: autotrof — organism that can synthesize its food
  • Portuguese: autótrofo — organism that can synthesize its food
  • Spanish: autótrofo — organism that can synthesize its food
  • Vietnamese: sinh vật tự dưỡng — organism that can synthesize its food