Standard Lemma guide

photoreception

noun · 1 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: /ˌfəʊtə(ʊ)ɹɪˈsɛpʃn̩/
  • General-American: /ˌfoʊtəɹəˈsɛpʃ(ə)n/
  • General-American: [-ɾə-]
  • rhymes with -ɛpʃən

1

noun

Meaning 1

The absorption of light energy by plants and animals, and its utilization for biologically important purposes

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

Topics: biology, natural-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bheh2- Proto-Indo-European *bhéh2os Proto-Hellenic *pháwos Ancient Greek φᾰ́ος (phắos) Ancient Greek φῶς (phôs) Ancient Greek φωτο- (phōto-)der. English photo- English reception English photoreception From photo- + reception.