Standard Lemma guide

biosafety

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

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.

  • /baɪ.ɑˈseɪf.tiː/
  • CMU ARPABET: B AY2 OW0 S EY1 F T IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Protection from potential harm from biological agents, such as infectious microbes or modified genes.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: biosecurity

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

safety from exposure to infectious agents

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: safety

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gweyh3-der. Ancient Greek βῐ́ος (bĭ́os) Ancient Greek βῐο- (bĭo-)der. English bio- English safety English biosafety From bio- + safety.

Across languages

Translations

2 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Greek: βιοασφάλεια (vioasfáleia) — protection from potential harm from biological agents
  • Irish: bithshábháilteacht — protection from potential harm from biological agents