biomass

noun

bio·mass | \ ˈbī-ō-ˌmas

How to pronounce biomass (audio)

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Definition of biomass

1 : the amount of living matter (as in a unit area or volume of habitat)

2 : plant materials and animal waste used especially as a source of fuel

Examples of biomass in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web For wind energy and biomass, the packing density is less, thereby the land requirement is greater than that for solar. — S Gopikrishna Warrier, Quartz, "India has big green energy dreams—but issues old and new persist," 29 Mar. 2021 In tracking the biomass of pelagic fish on the West Coast from British Columbia to Baja California, Demer of NOAA has observed some behavior that explains why populations in decline often stay in decline. — Layla Schlack, San Francisco Chronicle, "The Bay Area is hooked on chic, salty tinned fish. But its sustainability is not clear cut," 21 Mar. 2021 Connecticut will miss out on the emergence this spring in much of the eastern U.S. of a crawling, clamorous biomass of billions — the 17-year periodical cicadas of Brood X. — Jesse Leavenworth, courant.com, "Billions of Brood X 17-year cicadas are coming; Connecticut professors are tracking their emergence and how they keep time," 15 Mar. 2021 Whatever the reasons, the female spawning stock biomass has been below the sustainability threshold since 2013. — Joseph Albanese, Field & Stream, "Stripers Forever Calls for 10-Year Ban on Harvesting Striped Bass," 9 Mar. 2021 The Great Red Snapper Count estimated that there is three times more biomass of red snapper in the Gulf than the last federal red snapper assessment estimated. — Frank Sargeant, al, "Feds aim for reduced red snapper season in 2021," 28 Feb. 2021 There’s a big win for the climate in the Netherlands, where the government has ended huge subsidies for biomass, including imports from the U.S. — Bill Mckibben, The New Yorker, "Is There Anything Funny About the Climate Crisis?," 10 Mar. 2021 In addition, since the first agricultural revolution, humans have cut the world's plant biomass in half, through land-use changes such as agriculture and deforestation. — Doyle Rice, USA TODAY, "Our 'concrete jungle' is winning: Human-made materials now outweigh all living things on Earth, study says," 10 Dec. 2020 And the crossover point is slightly later if water weight is included in the biomass calculations. — Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, "Human-Made Stuff Now Outweighs All Life on Earth," 9 Dec. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'biomass.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Dictionary Entries near biomass

biomagnification

Statistics for biomass

Last Updated

9 Apr 2021

Cite this Entry

“Biomass.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/biomass. Accessed 15 Apr. 2021.

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More Definitions for biomass

biomass

noun

bio·mass | \ -ˌmas

\

Medical Definition of biomass

: the amount of living matter (as in a unit area or volume of habitat)

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