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.
UK:/ˈbaɪəʊˌtɛk.nɒl.əʊ.dʒi/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:B AY2 OW0 T EH2 K N AA1 L AH0 JH IY0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
The use of living organisms (especially microorganisms) in industrial, agricultural, medical and other technological applications.
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
2
noun
Meaning 2
The application of the principles and practices of engineering and technology to the life sciences.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable, usually
Examples
2008, Yutaka Tanaka, Attitude toward Bioethics and Acceptance of Biotechnology, William G. Flynne (editor), Biotechnology and Bioengineering, page 175, The result of study 3 suggests that the factor of bioethics is important not only for the acceptance of biotechnologies themselves, such as gene recombination technology and clone technology, but also the acceptance of foods and products which are produced by the use of biotechnologies.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
genetic engineering
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 branch of engineering science in which biological science is used to study the relation between workers and their environments
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
the branch of molecular biology that studies the use of microorganisms to perform specific industrial processes
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
biotechnology produced genetically altered bacteria that solved the problem
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: biotech
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: molecular biology
Narrower terms: bioremediation, genetic engineering, gene-splicing, recombinant DNA technology
History
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gweyh3-der. Ancient Greek βῐ́ος (bĭ́os) Ancient Greek βῐο- (bĭo-)der. English bio- English technology English biotechnology From bio- + technology.
Across languages
Translations
45 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Armenian:
բիոտեխնոլոգիա
(biotexnologia)
— use of living organisms in industrial, agricultural, medical applications
Catalan:
biotecnologia
— use of living organisms in industrial, agricultural, medical applications
Chinese Mandarin:
生物技術 /生物技术
(shēngwù jìshù)
— use of living organisms in industrial, agricultural, medical applications
Finnish:
bioteknologia
— use of living organisms in industrial, agricultural, medical applications
French:
biotechnologie
— use of living organisms in industrial, agricultural, medical applications
Galician:
biotecnoloxía
— use of living organisms in industrial, agricultural, medical applications
German:
Biotechnologie
— use of living organisms in industrial, agricultural, medical applications
Greek:
βιοτεχνολογία
(viotechnología)
— use of living organisms in industrial, agricultural, medical applications
Icelandic:
líftækni
— use of living organisms in industrial, agricultural, medical applications
Ido:
bioteknologio
— use of living organisms in industrial, agricultural, medical applications
Irish:
biteicneolaíocht
— use of living organisms in industrial, agricultural, medical applications
Italian:
biotecnologia
— use of living organisms in industrial, agricultural, medical applications
Japanese:
生物工学
(seibutsu kōgaku)
— use of living organisms in industrial, agricultural, medical applications
Japanese:
バイオテクノロジー
(baiotekunorojii)
— use of living organisms in industrial, agricultural, medical applications
Khmer:
បច្ចេកវិទ្យាជីវៈ
(bɑɑcceekvityiəciivĕəʼ)
— use of living organisms in industrial, agricultural, medical applications
Malay:
bioteknologi
— use of living organisms in industrial, agricultural, medical applications
Mongolian:
биотехнологи
(biotexnologi)
— use of living organisms in industrial, agricultural, medical applications
Norman:
biotechnologie
— use of living organisms in industrial, agricultural, medical applications
Polish:
biotechnologia
— use of living organisms in industrial, agricultural, medical applications
Portuguese:
biotecnologia
— use of living organisms in industrial, agricultural, medical applications
Russian:
биотехноло́гия
(biotexnológija)
— use of living organisms in industrial, agricultural, medical applications
Spanish:
biotecnología
— use of living organisms in industrial, agricultural, medical applications
Swedish:
bioteknik
— use of living organisms in industrial, agricultural, medical applications
Tagalog:
hayaghimuan
— use of living organisms in industrial, agricultural, medical applications
Turkish:
biyoteknoloji
— use of living organisms in industrial, agricultural, medical applications
Vietnamese:
công nghệ sinh học
— use of living organisms in industrial, agricultural, medical applications
Armenian:
բիոտեխնոլոգիա
(biotexnologia)
— application of the principles and practices of engineering and technology to the life sciences
Catalan:
biotecnologia
— application of the principles and practices of engineering and technology to the life sciences
Finnish:
bioteknologia
— application of the principles and practices of engineering and technology to the life sciences
Finnish:
biotekniikka
— application of the principles and practices of engineering and technology to the life sciences
French:
biotechnologie
— application of the principles and practices of engineering and technology to the life sciences
German:
Biotechnologie
— application of the principles and practices of engineering and technology to the life sciences
German:
Biotechnik
— application of the principles and practices of engineering and technology to the life sciences
Icelandic:
líftækni
— application of the principles and practices of engineering and technology to the life sciences
Ido:
bioteknologio
— application of the principles and practices of engineering and technology to the life sciences
Irish:
biteicneolaíocht
— application of the principles and practices of engineering and technology to the life sciences
Italian:
biotecnologia
— application of the principles and practices of engineering and technology to the life sciences
Northern Kurdish:
teknolojiya zîndeyî
— application of the principles and practices of engineering and technology to the life sciences
Latin:
biotechnologia
— application of the principles and practices of engineering and technology to the life sciences
Norman:
biotechnologie
— application of the principles and practices of engineering and technology to the life sciences
Portuguese:
biotecnologia
— application of the principles and practices of engineering and technology to the life sciences
Russian:
биотехноло́гия
(biotexnológija)
— application of the principles and practices of engineering and technology to the life sciences
Spanish:
biotecnología
— application of the principles and practices of engineering and technology to the life sciences
Tagalog:
hayaghimuan
— application of the principles and practices of engineering and technology to the life sciences
Turkish:
biyoteknoloji
— application of the principles and practices of engineering and technology to the life sciences
