ecosystem

noun
eco·​sys·​tem | \ ˈē-kō-ˌsi-stəm How to pronounce ecosystem (audio) , ˈe-kō- \
plural ecosystems

Definition of ecosystem

1 : the complex of a community of organisms and its environment functioning as an ecological unit That influx of fresh water alters the ocean's salinity near the seafloor, a factor that influences the makeup of the ecosystems in those places.— Sid Perkins Global warming, if it proceeds as many scientists predict, threatens to undo decades of conservation work and could mean the destruction of the monarch butterfly, the edelweiss, the polar bear and innumerable other species living in fragile ecosystems, an emerging body of scientific evidence suggests.— William K. Stevens
2 : something (such as a network of businesses) considered to resemble an ecological ecosystem especially because of its complex interdependent parts Newspaper layoffs have ripple effects for the entire local news ecosystem because, as the Congressional Research Service noted, television, radio and online outlets often "piggyback on reporting done by much larger newspaper staffs."— David Sirota Lots of Walmart customers are underserved by banks and other financial institutions, [Daniel] Eckert says; the company's experiments with finance-related products and services help customers "not only save money but also have access to a financial ecosystem they were crowded out from."— Rob Walker

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Other Words from ecosystem

ecosystemic \ ˌē-​kō-​si-​ˈste-​mik How to pronounce ecosystem (audio) , ˌe-​kō-​ \ adjective
The Amazon invariably evokes superlatives and often hyperbole. Stock images such as river dimensions and biotic variety are now joined with notions of forest biomass and ecosystemic complexity. — Kent Mathewson The women of Sex and the City occasionally argued, sure, but their ecosystemic purpose—to be there for their friends as they date and search and marry—was always extremely clear. — Megan Garber

The Environment of Ecosystem

For the now-ubiquitous prefix eco-, we can thank the great German zoologist Ernst Haeckel, who in 1866 coined the term oekologie from the Greek oikos, meaning “home, place to live.” Haeckel was thinking primarily of the “homes” of animals, but by the time the word translated into English in 1875 (initially spelled “oecology”), its meaning had broadened to embrace plant habitats as well. The related term ecosystem was proposed by the British botanist Arthur Tansley, 60 years after one of his own professors first translated Haeckel’s oekologie. It may have been ecosystem, which treats eco- as a prefix to a standard English word, that gave English speakers permission to do the same in coining a host of other terms: ecosphere, ecotour, eco-friendly, and all the rest. Meanwhile, ecosystem itself has been appropriated freely in all kinds of contexts well removed from the natural environment: the “app ecosystem,” the “education ecosystem,” the “startup ecosystem,” the “pop-culture ecosystem,” the “mobile ecosystem,” the “biking ecosystem,” and so forth.

Examples of ecosystem in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The delicate ecosystem of the Niger Delta, once teeming with plant and animal life, is today one of the most polluted places on the planet. New York Times, 25 July 2021 Alibaba has largely been barred from WeChat’s ecosystem, which includes millions of mini-programs that allow merchants and retailers to directly sell and market their products and services to WeChat’s billion-plus users. Keith Zhai, WSJ, 14 July 2021 Toward that end, HIVE just agreed to join the NVIDIA Partner Network (NPN) as a cloud service provider, providing us access to the tech company’s ecosystem, partners, customers and deep industry expertise. Frank Holmes, Forbes, 6 July 2021 Weisselberg's role in the Trump Organization — and the broader Trump ecosystem — is of serious consequence for the potential legal battles for the president and his close allies. Matthew Brown, USA TODAY, 1 July 2021 And critics say the sheer volume of water transferred could endanger the ecosystem near the pipeline, including wild rice beds, and even more so during the current drought. Mike Hughlett, Star Tribune, 29 June 2021 The online advertising ecosystem—tech firms, publishers and everyone else involved in the funding of our digital economy—has been working flat-out to get ready for major Google privacy changes later this year. David Meyer, Fortune, 25 June 2021 The Malaysian government has taken measures to protect the area’s ecosystem, including the relocation of numerous resorts off Sipadan and limiting the number of diving permits issued daily. Washington Post, 14 June 2021 The next pandemic could be different, and the potential culprit is out there — in a rainforest ecosystem, a trading market or a laboratory freezer. Los Angeles Times, 10 June 2021

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

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First Known Use of ecosystem

1935, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Time Traveler for ecosystem

Time Traveler

The first known use of ecosystem was in 1935

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Dictionary Entries Near ecosystem

ecostate

ecosystem

ecotage

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Statistics for ecosystem

Last Updated

28 Jul 2021

Cite this Entry

“Ecosystem.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ecosystem. Accessed 6 Aug. 2021.

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More Definitions for ecosystem

ecosystem

noun

English Language Learners Definition of ecosystem

: everything that exists in a particular environment

ecosystem

noun
eco·​sys·​tem | \ ˈē-kō-ˌsi-stəm How to pronounce ecosystem (audio) , ˈe- \

Kids Definition of ecosystem

: the whole group of living and nonliving things that make up an environment and affect each other

ecosystem

noun
eco·​sys·​tem | \ -ˌsis-təm How to pronounce ecosystem (audio) \

Medical Definition of ecosystem

: the complex of a community and its environment functioning as an ecological unit in nature

More from Merriam-Webster on ecosystem

Nglish: Translation of ecosystem for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of ecosystem for Arabic Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about ecosystem

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