biodiversity
noun
Did you know?
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
Judy Koutsky, Forbes.com, 13 June 2026
The development is planned within a nature reserve and one of Albania’s most valuable biodiversity areas, a key stopover for migratory birds along the Adriatic coast.
—Zana Cimili, Fortune, 12 June 2026
The deep ocean is still largely unexplored and biodiversity surveys contribute to the management of ocean biodiversity globally.
—Adam England, PEOPLE, 12 June 2026
Additionally, the Gri Gri Lagoon’s one-of-a-kind boat tour through natural mangrove tunnels lets visitors admire the area's biodiversity before reaching impressive cliffs and hidden caves in the sea.
—Condé Nast Traveler, 11 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for biodiversity
Cite this Entry
“Biodiversity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/biodiversity. Accessed 16 Jun. 2026.
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biodiversity
noun
