Meanings
nounoperational taxonomic unit (plural operational taxonomic units)
plural operational taxonomic units · alternative OTU
- A terminal node in phylogenetic analysis; an organism.
External nodes: things under comparison; operational taxonomic units
Cite this entry
APA
operational taxonomic unit. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/operational%20taxonomic%20unit
MLA
“operational taxonomic unit.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/operational%20taxonomic%20unit. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “operational taxonomic unit,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/operational%20taxonomic%20unit.
Source: operational taxonomic unit on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.