noun · 5 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
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
Received-Pronunciation:/ˈbaɪə(ʊ)mæs/
General-American:/ˈbaɪoʊˌmæs/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:B AY1 AH0 M AE0 S
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
The total mass of a living thing or a part thereof (such as a cell).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable, usually
Topics: biology, natural-sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
The total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable, usually
Topics: biology, natural-sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
Organic matter from living things which were recently alive (especially vegetation) used as a fuel or source of energy, especially if cultivated for that purpose; also, fuel produced from such organic matter; biofuel.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable, usually
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
the total mass of living matter in a given unit area
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: mass
5
noun
Meaning 5
plant materials and animal waste used as fuel
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: fuel
History
Etymology
From bio- (prefix denoting organic life) + mass (“matter, material”).
Across languages
Translations
63 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Finnish:
biomassa
— total mass of a living thing or a part thereof
Polish:
biomasa
— total mass of a living thing or a part thereof
Welsh:
biomas
— total mass of a living thing or a part thereof
Arabic:
كتلة بيولوجية
— total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.
Aragonese:
biomasa
— total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.
Azerbaijani:
biokütlə
— total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.
Catalan:
biomassa
— total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.
Chinese Mandarin:
生物量
(shēngwùliàng)
— total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.
Czech:
biomasa
— total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.
Dutch:
biomassa
— total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.
Esperanto:
biomaso
— total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.
Estonian:
biomass
— total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.
Finnish:
biomassa
— total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.
French:
biomasse
— total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.
Galician:
biomasa
— total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.
German:
Biomasse
— total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.
Greek:
βιομάζα
(viomáza)
— total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.
Hebrew:
בִּיּוֹמַסָּה
(biyomása)
— total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.
Ido:
biomaso
— total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.
Indonesian:
biomassa
— total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.
Irish:
bithmhais
— total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.
Japanese:
バイオマス
(baiomasu)
— total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.
Kazakh:
биомасса
(biomassa)
— total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.
Kyrgyz:
биомасса
(biomassa)
— total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.
Lithuanian:
biomasė
— total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.
Macedonian:
биома́са
(biomása)
— total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.
Norwegian Bokmål:
biomasse
— total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.
Norwegian Nynorsk:
biomasse
— total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.
Persian:
زیستتوده
— total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.
Polish:
biomasa
— total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.
Portuguese:
biomassa
— total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.
Romanian:
biomasă
— total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.
Russian:
биома́сса
(biomássa)
— total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.
Spanish:
biomasa
— total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.
Swedish:
biomassa
— total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.
Tagalog:
haykimpal
— total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.
Turkish:
biyokütle
— total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.
Ukrainian:
біома́са
(biomása)
— total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.
Vietnamese:
sinh khối
— total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.
Vietnamese:
sinh khối loài
— total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.
Welsh:
biomas
— total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.
Catalan:
biomassa
— organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy
Chinese Mandarin:
生物質能 /生物质能
(shēngwù zhìnéng)
— organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy
Czech:
biomasa
— organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy
Dutch:
biomassa
— organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy
Finnish:
biomassa
— organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy
French:
biomasse
— organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy
German:
Biomasse
— organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy
Greek:
βιομάζα
(viomáza)
— organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy
Irish:
bithmhais
— organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy
Italian:
biomassa
— organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy
Kazakh:
биомасса
(biomassa)
— organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy
Khmer:
ជីវម៉ាស
(ciiwmaah)
— organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy
Macedonian:
биома́са
(biomása)
— organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy
Polish:
biomasa
— organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy
Portuguese:
biomassa
— organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy
Russian:
биома́сса
(biomássa)
— organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy
Spanish:
biomasa
— organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy
Swedish:
biomassa
— organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy
Tagalog:
haykimpal
— organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy
Turkish:
biyokütle
— organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy
Vietnamese:
sinh khối
— organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy
Welsh:
biomas
— organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy