ecotype

noun

eco·​type ˈē-kə-ˌtīp 

ˈe-

: a population of a species that survives as a distinct group through environmental selection and isolation and that is comparable with a taxonomic subspecies

ecotypic

ˌē-kə-ˈti-pik 

ˌe-kə-

adjective

Examples of ecotype in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Prior to European expansion and colonization in the West, two different wolf ecotypes — one at home on the plains and one more suited to mountainous terrain — may have met in Wyoming. — Natalie Krebs, Outdoor Life, 11 June 2026

And some ecotypes contain many chromosomal inversions. — Marlowe Starling, Quanta Magazine, 21 May 2026

In botany, an ecotype occurs when a plant adapts to different environmental conditions with different size, appearance, or other traits. — Ian Rose, JSTOR Daily, 26 Feb. 2025

Not only one species, not only one varieties, not only one ecotype, but mixed. — Ari Daniel, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1916, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for ecotype

• allotype
• antitype
• archetype
• biotype
• collotype
• genotype
• haplotype
• holotype
• hypotype
• isotype
• lectotype
• linotype