noun · 4 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:/ˈiːkəʊˌsɪstəm/
US:/ˈikoʊˌsɪstəm/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:IY1 K OW0 S IH2 S T AH0 M
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A system formed by an ecological community and its environment that functions as a unit.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
The interconnectedness of organisms (plants, animals, microbes) with each other and their environment.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
A network of interconnected people, organizations, products or services that resembles a natural ecosystem due to the complex interdependencies.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: broadly
Examples
The company’s ecosystem mainly comprises its supply chain, customers, end consumers and competitors.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
a system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their physical environment
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: system, scheme
History
Etymology
From eco- + system. Coined by English botanist Arthur Tansley in 1935 in a paper titled The Use and Abuse of Vegetational Concepts in the journal Ecology.
Across languages
Translations
72 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Afrikaans:
ekosisteem
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Arabic:
نِظَام بِيئِي
(niẓām bīʔī)
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Armenian:
էկոհամակարգ
(ēkohamakarg)
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Assamese:
পৰিৱেশ তন্ত্ৰ
(poriwex tontro)
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Asturian:
ecosistema
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Belarusian:
экасістэ́ма
(ekasistéma)
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Bengali:
বাস্তুসংস্থান
(bastuśoṅsthan)
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Bengali:
বাস্তুতন্ত্র
(bastutontro)
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Breton:
trevreizhad
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Bulgarian:
екосисте́ма
(ekosistéma)
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Burmese:
ဂေဟစနစ်
(geha.ca.nac)
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Catalan:
ecosistema
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Chinese:
生態系 /生态系
(seng-thài-hē)
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Chinese Mandarin:
生態系 /生态系
(shēngtàixì)
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Chinese Mandarin:
生態系統 /生态系统
(shēngtài xìtǒng)
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Czech:
ekosystém
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Danish:
økosystem
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Dutch:
ecosysteem
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Esperanto:
ekosistemo
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Estonian:
ökosüsteem
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Finnish:
ekosysteemi
— system of an ecological community and its environment
French:
écosystème
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Galician:
ecosistema
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Georgian:
ეკოსისტემა
(eḳosisṭema)
— system of an ecological community and its environment
German:
Ökosystem
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Greek:
οικοσύστημα
(oikosýstima)
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Gujarati:
નિવસન તંત્ર
(nivsan tantra)
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Hawaiian:
kaiaola
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Hindi:
पारितंत्र
(pāritantra)
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Hungarian:
ökoszisztéma
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Icelandic:
vistkerfi
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Ido:
ekosistemo
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Indonesian:
ekosistem
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Indonesian:
tata lingkungan
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Irish:
éiceachóras
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Italian:
ecosistema
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Japanese:
生態系
(seitaikei)
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Kannada:
ಪರಿಸರ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆ
(parisara vyavasthe)
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Kazakh:
экожүйе
(ékojüie)
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Korean:
생태계
(saengtaegye)
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Latin:
oecosystema
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Latvian:
ekosistēma
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Lithuanian:
ekosistema
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Macedonian:
екосистем
(ekosistem)
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Malay:
ekosistem
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Malayalam:
ആവാസവ്യവസ്ഥ
(āvāsavyavastha)
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Māori:
pūnaha hauropi
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Norwegian Bokmål:
økosystem
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Norwegian Nynorsk:
økosystem
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Occitan:
ecosistèma
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Persian:
اکوسیستم
(ekusistem)
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Polish:
ekosystem
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Portuguese:
ecossistema
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Romanian:
ecosistem
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Russian:
экосисте́ма
(ekosistéma)
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Serbo-Croatian:
екосу́став
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Serbo-Croatian:
екосѝсте̄м
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Serbo-Croatian:
ekosústav
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Serbo-Croatian:
ekosìstēm
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Sinhalese:
පරිසර පද්ධති
(parisara paddhati)
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Slovene:
ekosistem
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Spanish:
ecosistema
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Swahili:
mfumo wa ikolojia
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Swedish:
ekosystem
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Tamil:
சூழல் மண்டலம்
(cūḻal maṇṭalam)
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Tamil:
சூழற்றொகுதி
(cūḻaṟṟokuti)
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Telugu:
పర్యావరణ వ్యవస్థ
(paryāvaraṇa vyavastha)
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Thai:
ระบบนิเวศ
(rá-bòp-ní-wêet)
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Turkish:
ekosistem
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Ukrainian:
екосисте́ма
(ekosystéma)
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Vietnamese:
hệ sinh thái
— system of an ecological community and its environment
Zazaki:
ekosistem
— system of an ecological community and its environment
