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
Elizabeth Heath, Travel + Leisure, 29 May 2026
Harpy eagles are Panama's national bird and are an Ecuadorian symbol of biodiversity, the aviary says.
—Madeline Bartos, CBS News, 28 May 2026
As concern grows over fashion’s environmental impact, some brands have looked to solutions like regenerative cotton, which focuses on soil health, biodiversity and reducing synthetic chemical use.
—ABC News, 28 May 2026
Scientists say these benefits—valued at over $500 billion annually—depend on biodiversity.
—Tatjana Baleta, Time, 28 May 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 31 May. 2026.
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biodiversity
noun
