biocontainment

B3I1O1C3O1N1T1A1I1N1M3E1N1T1

noun

Any of several techniques used to ensure that biohazards are contained within a laboratory and not allowed to escape into the environment.

OriginEnglish containment ← Middle English conteinen ← Old French contenir →
Scrabble 20
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounbiocontainment (uncountable)
  1. uncountablebiologyAny of several techniques used to ensure that biohazards are contained within a laboratory and not allowed to escape into the environment.
  2. uncountablebiologyThe modification of an organism's genetic material in order to restrict its ability to reproduce outside of a laboratory.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*gʷeyh₃-
  2. Ancient Greekβῐ́ος (bĭ́os)
  3. Ancient Greekβῐο- (bĭo-)
  4. Englishbio-
  5. Proto-Indo-European*ḱe?
  6. Proto-Indo-European*ḱóm
  7. Proto-Italic*kom
  8. Proto-Italic*kom-
  9. Latincon-
  10. Proto-Indo-European*ten-
  11. Proto-Indo-European*tn̥eh₁yéti
  12. Proto-Italic*tenēō
  13. Latinteneō
  14. Latincontineō
  15. Latincontinēre
  16. Old Frenchcontenir
  17. Middle Englishconteinen
  18. Englishcontain
  19. Englishcontainment
  20. Englishbiocontainment

From bio- + containment.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

biocontainment. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/biocontainment

MLA

“biocontainment.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/biocontainment. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “biocontainment,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/biocontainment.

Source: biocontainment on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.