noun · 3 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:/ˌfəʊ.təʊˈsɪn.θə.sɪs/
UK:[ˌfəʊ.thəʊˈsɪn̪.θə.sɪs]
US:/ˌfoʊ.toʊˈsɪn.θə.sɪs/
US:[ˌfŏʊ.ɾoʊˈsɪn̪.θə.sɪs]
UK:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:F OW2 T OW0 S IH1 N TH AH0 S IH0 S
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
Any process by which plants and other photoautotrophs convert light energy into chemical energy.
Principally, oxygenic photosynthesis, any process by which plants and algae convert water and carbon dioxide into carbohydrates and waste oxygen using solar energy.
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
synthesis of compounds with the aid of radiant energy (especially in plants)
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: chemical process, chemical change, chemical action
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 synthesis English photosynthesis From photo- + synthesis.
Across languages
Translations
88 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Afrikaans:
fotosinthese
— biological process
Arabic:
تَمْثِيل ضَوْئِيّ
(tamṯīl ḍawʔiyy)
— biological process
Arabic:
تَرْكِيب ضَوْئِيّ
(tarkīb ḍawʔiyy)
— biological process
Assamese:
সালোক-সংশ্লেষণ
(xalük-xoṅslexon)
— biological process
Assamese:
পোহৰ-মিলন
(pühor-milon)
— biological process
Asturian:
fotosíntesis
— biological process
Azerbaijani:
fotosintez
— biological process
Bashkir:
фотосинтез
(fotosintez)
— biological process
Bengali:
সালোকসংশ্লেষ
(śalōkśoṅsleś)
— biological process
Bengali:
সালোকসংশ্লেষণ
(śalōkśoṅsleśon)
— biological process
Bulgarian:
фотосинтеза
(fotosinteza)
— biological process
Catalan:
fotosíntesi
— biological process
Chinese:
光合作用
(kng-ha̍p chok-iōng)
— biological process
Chinese Mandarin:
光合作用
(guānghé zuòyòng)
— biological process
Czech:
fotosyntéza
— biological process
Danish:
fotosyntese
— biological process
Dutch:
fotosynthese
— biological process
Esperanto:
fotosintezo
— biological process
Faroese:
ljóssamevning
— biological process
Faroese:
fotosyntesa
— biological process
Finnish:
fotosynteesi
— biological process
Finnish:
yhteyttäminen
— biological process
French:
photosynthèse
— biological process
Galician:
fotosíntese
— biological process
Georgian:
ფოტოსინთეზი
(poṭosintezi)
— biological process
German:
Photosynthese
— biological process
Greek:
φωτοσύνθεση
(fotosýnthesi)
— biological process
Greenlandic:
qaamanikkut pilersoqarneq
— biological process
Gujarati:
પ્રકાશસંશ્લેષણ
(prakāśsãśleṣaṇ)
— biological process
Hawaiian:
kāʻamaʻai
— biological process
Hebrew:
פוטוסינתזה
(fotosinteza)
— biological process
Hindi:
प्रकाश-संश्लेषण
(prakāś-sañśleṣaṇ)
— biological process
Hungarian:
fotoszintézis
— biological process
Icelandic:
ljóstillífun
— biological process
Indonesian:
fotosintesis
— biological process
Irish:
fótaisintéis
— biological process
Italian:
fotosintesi
— biological process
Japanese:
光合成
(kōgōsei)
— biological process
Kannada:
ದ್ಯುತಿಸಂಶ್ಲೇಷಣೆ
(dyutisaṃślēṣaṇe)
— biological process
Kannada:
ಬೆಳಕು ಹಮ್ಮುಗೆ
(beḷaku hammuge)
— biological process
Kazakh:
фотосинтез
(fotosintez)
— biological process
Kazakh:
сәулеқұрау
(säuleqūrau)
— biological process
Khmer:
រស្មីសំយោគ
(rɔɔsməysɑmyook)
— biological process
Korean:
광합성
(gwanghapseong)
— biological process
Kyrgyz:
фотосинтез
(fotosintez)
— biological process
Latin:
photosynthesis
— biological process
Latvian:
fotosintēze
— biological process
Lithuanian:
fotosintezė
— biological process
Low German:
Photosynthese
— biological process
Macedonian:
фотосинтеза
(fotosinteza)
— biological process
Malay:
fotosintesis
— biological process
Malayalam:
പ്രകാശസംശ്ലേഷണം
(prakāśasaṁślēṣaṇaṁ)
— biological process
Manx:
co-haaghey sollysh
— biological process
Māori:
ahotakakame
— biological process
Marathi:
प्रकाशसंश्लेषण
(prakāśsauśleṣaṇ)
— biological process
Nepali:
प्रकाश संश्लेषण
(prakāś saṅśaleṣaṇ)
— biological process
Norwegian Bokmål:
fotosyntese
— biological process
Norwegian Nynorsk:
fotosyntese
— biological process
Occitan:
fotosintèsi
— biological process
Persian:
نورساخت
(nursâxt)
— biological process
Polish:
fotosynteza
— biological process
Portuguese:
fotossíntese
— biological process
Punjabi:
ਪ੍ਰਕਾਸ਼ ਸੰਸਲੇਸ਼ਣ
(prkāś sansleśaṇ)
— biological process
Quechua:
inti wayllay
— biological process
Romanian:
fotosinteză
— biological process
Russian:
фотоси́нтез
(fotosíntɛz)
— biological process
Scottish Gaelic:
foto-cho-chur
— biological process
Sindhi:
تِڙڪيسازِي
(tiṛkesāzī)
— biological process
Sinhalese:
ප්රභාසංශ්ලේෂණය
(prabhāsaṁślēṣaṇaya)
— biological process
Slovene:
fotosinteza
— biological process
Somali:
habka samayska cuntada
— biological process
Spanish:
fotosíntesis
— biological process
Sundanese:
fotosintésis
— biological process
Swahili:
usanisinuru
— biological process
Swahili:
usanidimwanga
— biological process
Swedish:
fotosyntes
— biological process
Tagalog:
potosintesis
— biological process
Tamil:
ஒளிச்சேர்க்கை
(oḷiccērkkai)
— biological process
Telugu:
కిరణజన్య సంయోగ క్రియ
(kiraṇajanya saṁyōga kriya)
— biological process
Thai:
การสังเคราะห์แสง
(kār s̄ạngkherāah̄̒ s̄æng)
— biological process
Turkish:
fotosentez
— biological process
Turkish:
ışılbireşim
— biological process
Turkish:
ışık yardımı ile besin biriktirme süreci
— biological process
Ukrainian:
фотоси́нтез
(fotosýntez)
— biological process
Uyghur:
فوتوسىنتېز
(fotosintëz)
— biological process
Vietnamese:
quang hợp
— biological process
Welsh:
ffotosynthesis
— biological process
Zulu:
ukwakhiwa kokudla kwesihlahla
— biological process