Meanings
plural autotrophs
- biologyAny organism that can synthesize its food from inorganic substances, using heat or light as a source of energy.
1 more example
It is likely that the long evolutionary trajectory of Mycoplasma went from a reductive autotroph to oxidative heterotroph to a cell-wall–defective degenerate parasite. This evolutionary trajectory assumes the simplicity to complexity route of biogenesis, a point of view that is not universally accepted.
2013 March 28, Harold J. Morowitz, “The Smallest Cell”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 2, archived from the original on 04 Jan 2017, page 83Synonyms: producer
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAny organism that can synthesize its food from inorganic substances, using heat or light as a source of energy.
More synonyms by meaning
nounplant capable of synthesizing its own food from simple organic substances
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Ancient Greekτροφή“nourishment”
- Ancient Greekαὐτο-“self-”
- Englishautotroph
From auto- (from Ancient Greek αὐτο- (auto-, “self-”)) + -troph (from Ancient Greek τροφή (trophḗ, “nourishment”)).
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan autòtrof
- autòtroforganism that can synthesize its food
Chinese Mandarin 自營生物 /自营生物, 自養生物 /自养生物
- 自營生物 /自营生物 (zìyíng shēngwù)organism that can synthesize its food
- 自養生物 /自养生物 (zìyǎng shēngwù)organism that can synthesize its food
Dutch autotroof
- autotrooforganism that can synthesize its food
Finnish tuottaja, autotrofi
- tuottajaorganism that can synthesize its food
- autotrofiorganism that can synthesize its food
French autotrophe
- autotropheorganism that can synthesize its food
German Autotroph
- Autotrophorganism that can synthesize its food
Indonesian autotrof
- autotroforganism that can synthesize its food
Irish uatrófach
- uatrófachorganism that can synthesize its food
Italian autrofia, autotrofo
- autrofiaorganism that can synthesize its food
- autotrofoorganism that can synthesize its food
Japanese 独立栄養生物
- 独立栄養生物 (dokuritsu eiyō seibutsu)organism that can synthesize its food
Korean 독립영양생물
- 독립영양생물 (dongnibyeong'yangsaengmul)organism that can synthesize its food
Māori pūkame
- pūkameorganism that can synthesize its food
Polish autotrof
- autotroforganism that can synthesize its food
Portuguese autótrofo
- autótrofoorganism that can synthesize its food
Spanish autótrofo
- autótrofoorganism that can synthesize its food
Vietnamese sinh vật tự dưỡng
- sinh vật tự dưỡngorganism that can synthesize its food
Cite this entry
autotroph. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/autotroph
“autotroph.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/autotroph. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “autotroph,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/autotroph.
Source: autotroph on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.