metabolically

M3E1T1A1B3O1L1I1C3A1L1L1Y4

adverb

In terms of, or by means of, metabolism.

OriginProto-Germanic *līką ← Proto-Indo-European *leyg- ← English metabolic →
UncommonScrabble 22
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Meanings

adverbmetabolically (not comparable)
  1. not comparableIn terms of, or by means of, metabolism.

    Here [the new fire ant queen] raises a few tiny “minim” workers entirely from her body reserves of stored fat and metabolically cannibalized wing muscles.

    2016, Justin O. Schmidt, The Sting of the Wild, Johns Hopkins University Press, →ISBN, page 66
    1 more example

    Abdominal fat accumulation, known as visceral fat, has "long been recognized as metabolically harmful," according to Philip Rabito, M.D., a specialist in endocrinology, weight loss and wellness in New York City.

    2026 January 6, Angelica Stable, “More Americans may be classified as obese under new definition, study suggests”, in Fox News, archived from the original on 17 Jan 2026

Origin

  1. Englishmetabolic
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
  3. Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
  4. Proto-Indo-European*leyg-
  5. Proto-Germanic*līką
  6. Englishmetabolically

From metabolic + -ally.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

metabolically. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/metabolically

MLA

“metabolically.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/metabolically. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “metabolically,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/metabolically.

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