biodiversity
noun
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Biodiversity may become the rallying call for the next decade, wrote David Wake in the journal Science in 1989. Indeed, biodiversity is a word you're likely to encounter in writing about ecology and the environment today. But when Wake used it, "biodiversity" was still a relatively new addition to the English language, having first appeared in writing in the mid-1980s. Of course, the roots of biodiversity are much older. It evolved from a commingling of the descendants of the Greek noun bios, which means "mode of life," and the Latin verb divertere, which means "to turn aside" or "to go different ways."
Examples of biodiversity in a Sentence
Abc Climate Unit, ABC News, 7 Oct. 2025
Adding to that causes ocean acidification, which can disrupt marine food chains and reduce biodiversity.
—Abhimanyu Ghoshal, New Atlas, 6 Oct. 2025
The disappearance of migratory birds such as flamingos and pelicans signals not only a loss of biodiversity but also a broader disruption of regional ecosystems that sustain local livelihoods.
—Amir Daftari, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Oct. 2025
During the dives, researchers collected hundreds of deep-sea samples and gathered data on biodiversity, ocean hydrology, sea ice conditions, and water chemistry.
—Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 5 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for biodiversity
Cite this Entry
“Biodiversity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/biodiversity. Accessed 15 Oct. 2025.
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biodiversity
noun
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