biological

adjective

bi·​o·​log·​i·​cal ˌbī-ə-ˈlä-ji-kəl How to pronounce biological (audio)
variants or less commonly biologic
1
: of or relating to biology or to life and living processes
2
: used in or produced by applied biology
3
: connected by direct genetic relationship rather than by adoption or marriage
her biological father
biologically adverb

Examples of biological in a Sentence

the rights of the biological father in this case
Recent Examples on the Web Judge Beth Kissinger made the ruling at the request of Harmony’s biological mother, Crystal Sorey, who planned to file a wrongful death lawsuit, according to court documents cited by CBS News, NBC Boston and WCVB-TV. Nicole Acosta, Peoplemag, 15 Mar. 2024 He was also ordered not to have any unsupervised contact with any minors except his biological children. Tracy Neal, arkansasonline.com, 14 Mar. 2024 When those children are placed with foster families, addiction recovery and returning the baby to its biological family becomes the goal. Maggie Menderski, The Courier-Journal, 12 Mar. 2024 However, in recent years, scientists have pushed back on the idea that earlier puberty is the result of biological differences between races. Alexa Lee, STAT, 7 Mar. 2024 Tran said his biological mother has been unhoused and addicted to drugs for decades, so Tran spent most of his early life in foster care. Veronica Miracle, CNN, 7 Mar. 2024 While the first trailer shared the wholesome story of how Garfield (voiced by Chris Pratt) entered Jon’s (voiced by Nicholas Hoult) life, the latest preview gets to Garfield’s unexpected reunion with his biological dad, Vic (voiced by Samuel L. Jackson). Tatiana Tenreyro, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Mar. 2024 This would reduce the biological breakdown that occurs in organs after even a few minutes without oxygen. Brian Murphy, Washington Post, 2 Mar. 2024 In 2021, the National Marine Fisheries Service issued a biological opinion about the state of the right whale population that set forward a plan to reduce their deaths, including a rule to force Maine’s lobstermen to start using different, more expensive gear to reduce entanglement of the whales. Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'biological.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1818, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of biological was in 1818

Dictionary Entries Near biological

Cite this Entry

“Biological.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/biological. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

biological

adjective
bi·​o·​log·​i·​cal
ˌbī-ə-ˈläj-i-kəl
variants also biologic
-ˈläj-ik
1
: of or relating to biology or to life and living things
2
: connected by a relationship involving heredity rather than by one involving adoption or marriage
his biological father
biologically
-ˈläj-i-k(ə-)lē
adverb

Medical Definition

biological

adjective
variants also biologic
1
: of or relating to biology or to life and living processes
2
: used in or produced by applied biology
3
: related by direct genetic relationship rather than by adoption or marriage
an adoptee who searched for years for her biological parents
biologically adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on biological

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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