biodegradation

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noun

The decomposition of any material by microorganisms.

OriginEnglish degradation ← Ancient Greek βῐο- (bĭo-) ← Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃- →
Less commonScrabble 19
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Meanings

nounbiodegradation (countable and uncountable, plural biodegradations)

plural biodegradations

  1. countableuncountableThe decomposition of any material by microorganisms.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
biodegeneration

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*gʷeyh₃-
  2. Ancient Greekβῐ́ος (bĭ́os)
  3. Ancient Greekβῐο- (bĭo-)
  4. Englishbio-
  5. Englishdegradation
  6. Englishbiodegradation

From bio- + degradation.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan biodegradació
  • biodegradaciódecomposition of any material by microorganisms
Chinese Mandarin 生物降解
  • 生物降解 (shēngwù jiàngjiě)decomposition of any material by microorganisms
Czech biologický rozklad, biodegradace
  • biologický rozkladdecomposition of any material by microorganisms
  • biodegradacedecomposition of any material by microorganisms
Finnish biohajoaminen
  • biohajoaminendecomposition of any material by microorganisms
French biodégradation
  • biodégradationdecomposition of any material by microorganisms
Irish bithmhilleadh
  • bithmhilleadhdecomposition of any material by microorganisms
Italian biodegradazione
  • biodegradazionedecomposition of any material by microorganisms
Polish biodegradacja
  • biodegradacjadecomposition of any material by microorganisms
Russian биодеграда́ция, биоразложе́ние
  • биодеграда́ция (biodegradácija)decomposition of any material by microorganisms
  • биоразложе́ние (biorazložénije)decomposition of any material by microorganisms
Spanish biodegradación
  • biodegradacióndecomposition of any material by microorganisms
Ukrainian біодеградація
  • біодеградація (biodehradacija)decomposition of any material by microorganisms

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with biodegradation

informationeducationlocationapplicationassociationadministrationorganizationcorporationregistrationAsianfoundationcommunicationpopulationnavigationstationaccommodationoperationpublicationvacationtransportationevaluationimplementationinstallationnation
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

biodegradation. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/biodegradation

MLA

“biodegradation.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/biodegradation. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “biodegradation,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/biodegradation.

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