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
Jaclyn Cosgrove, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2026
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife, which would be responsible for managing any population of grizzlies, is facing budget cuts in both its biodiversity conservation program and its law enforcement division, which employs game wardens and wildlife officers.
—Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 8 Apr. 2026
In 2024, Björk staged an AI sound piece at Paris’ Pompidou Centre to draw attention to biodiversity loss.
—Walden Green, Pitchfork, 8 Apr. 2026
Today, the bay holds some of the richest marine biodiversity on earth, a fact that would have delighted Ricketts and Steinbeck.
—Alexandra Genova, TheWeek, 7 Apr. 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 19 Apr. 2026.
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biodiversity
noun
