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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CMU ARPABET:B AY2 OW0 F IH1 S IH0 K S
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
The interdisciplinary science that applies theories and methods of the physical sciences to questions of biology.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable
Examples
For quotations using this term, see Citations:biophysics.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
physics as applied to biological problems
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: physics, natural philosophy
History
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gweyh3-der. Ancient Greek βῐ́ος (bĭ́os) Ancient Greek βῐο- (bĭo-)der. English bio- Proto-Indo-European *bhuH- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *bhuHyéti Ancient Greek φῠ́ω (phŭ́ō) Proto-Indo-European *-tis Ancient Greek -τις (-tis) Ancient Greek -σῐς (-sĭs) Ancient Greek φύσις (phúsis) Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Hellenic *-kos Ancient Greek -κός (-kós) Ancient Greek -ικός (-ikós) Ancient Greek φυσικός (phusikós)der. Latin physicusder. Middle English phisik English physic English physics English biophysics From bio- + physics.
Across languages
Translations
36 source translations are retained for this English entry.