Standard Lemma guide

exobiology

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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1

noun

Meaning 1

The branch of biology dealing with exolife: (putative or predicted) extraterrestrial lifeforms (those originating from planets other than Earth).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

Qualifier: life sciences

Topics: literature, media, publishing, science-fiction

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: xenobiology

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: astrobiology, life science, natural science, science

2

noun

Meaning 2

the branch of biology concerned with the effects of outer space on living organisms and the search for extraterrestrial life

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: space biology, astrobiology

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: biology, biological science

History

Etymology

From exo- + biology, coined by American molecular biologist Joshua Lederberg.

Across languages

Translations

18 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: exobiologia — biology dealing with extraterrestrial lifeforms
  • Chinese Mandarin: 天體生物學 /天体生物学 — biology dealing with extraterrestrial lifeforms
  • Chinese Mandarin: 外空生物学 — biology dealing with extraterrestrial lifeforms
  • Chinese Mandarin: 太空生物学 — biology dealing with extraterrestrial lifeforms
  • Dutch: exobiologie — biology dealing with extraterrestrial lifeforms
  • Finnish: eksobiologia — biology dealing with extraterrestrial lifeforms
  • French: exobiologie — biology dealing with extraterrestrial lifeforms
  • German: Exobiologie — biology dealing with extraterrestrial lifeforms
  • Hungarian: exobiológia — biology dealing with extraterrestrial lifeforms
  • Irish: eisibhitheolaíocht — biology dealing with extraterrestrial lifeforms
  • Khmer: ពហិជីវវិទ្យា (pea’he’ chiivoa vityie) — biology dealing with extraterrestrial lifeforms
  • Lithuanian: egzobiologija — biology dealing with extraterrestrial lifeforms
  • Polish: astrobiologia — biology dealing with extraterrestrial lifeforms
  • Polish: egzobiologia — biology dealing with extraterrestrial lifeforms
  • Portuguese: exobiologia — biology dealing with extraterrestrial lifeforms
  • Romanian: exobiologie — biology dealing with extraterrestrial lifeforms
  • Russian: экзобиоло́гия (ekzobiológija) — biology dealing with extraterrestrial lifeforms
  • Spanish: exobiología — biology dealing with extraterrestrial lifeforms