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
Zoë Dare Hall,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2026
In 2026, with global biodiversity in mortal danger, the Galápagos aren’t just a cradle of incredible variation.
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Emma Sarappo,
The Atlantic,
26 June 2026
The showcase will highlight global biodiversity through Sartore’s striking, signature animal portraits, but will also include changes visitors can do in their own community to protect biodiversity—from avoiding pesticides to planting wildflowers, Tiefenthaler says.
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Simmone Shah,
Time,
25 June 2026
The country is sometimes referred to as the shark diving capital of the world, given its biodiversity and shark protection efforts, led by the Bahamas National Trust.
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Mason Leib,
ABC News,
24 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 2 Jul. 2026.
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biodiversity
noun
