Examples of metabolic in a Sentence
Kaitlin Sullivan, NBC News, 19 Sep. 2023
New research suggests the answer might lie in better understanding the metabolic profiles of people who’ve hit that centenarian mark.
—Brian Mastroianni, Health, 31 Oct. 2023
Calibrate had started working with an employer to provide metabolic health services.
—Byjessica Mathews, Fortune, 31 Oct. 2023
Plus, coffee also contains bioactive components—like chlorogenic acids, polyphenols, and caffeine—which can impact the body's metabolic health for the better.
—Christina Pérez, Vogue, 27 Oct. 2023
Stage 3: People with metabolic risk factors such as high blood pressure and early cardiovascular disease or kidney disease but who don't have symptoms yet.
—Linda Carroll, NBC News, 9 Oct. 2023
Eat small meals and eat more often: Avoid foods high in protein that increase metabolic heat.
—Staff Reports, The Arizona Republic, 8 Sep. 2023
Weight, body fat, muscle mass, skeletal mass, visceral fat, BMR, BMI, bone mass, subcutaneous fat, metabolic age, water, protein
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—Theresa Holland, Peoplemag, 25 Oct. 2023
Animals significantly reduce their metabolic activity and body temperature to conserve energy.
—Cody Cottier, Discover Magazine, 16 Oct. 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'metabolic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
borrowed from German metabolisch, borrowed from Greek metabolikós "changeable, subject to change," from metabolḗ "change, transition" (from metabol-, stem in noun derivation of metabállein "to put into a different position, turn about, change, alter," from meta- meta- + bállein "to reach by throwing, let fly, strike, put, place") + -ikos -ic entry 1 — more at devil entry 1
Note: The term was introduced by the German physiologist Theodor Schwann (1810-82) in Die Mikroskopischen Untersuchungen über die Uebereinstimmung in der Struktur und dem Wachsthum der Thiere und Pflanzen (Berlin, 1839), p. 229: "Die Frage über die Grundkraft der Organismen reducirt sich also auf die Frage über die Grundkräfte der einzelnen Zellen. Wir müssen nun die allgemeinen Erscheinungen der Zellenbildung betrachten, um zu finden, welche Kräfte man zur Erklärung derselben in den Zellen voraussetzen muss. Diese Erscheinungen lassen sich unter zwei natürlichen Gruppen bringen: Erstens Erscheinungen, die sich auf die Zusammenfügung der Moleküle zu einer Zelle beziehn; man kann sie die plastischen Erscheinungen der Zellen nennen; zweitens Erscheinungen, die sich auf chemische Veränderungen, sowohl der Bestandtheile der Zelle selbst, als des umgebenden Cytoblastems beziehn; diese kann man metabolische Erscheinungen nennen (τὸ μεταβολικὸν [sic] was Umwandlung hervorzubringen oder zu erleiden geneigt ist)." — "The question, then, as to the fundamental powers of organized bodies resolves itself into that of the fundamental powers of the individual cells. We must now consider the general phenomena attending the formation of cells, in order to discover what powers may be presumed to exist in the cells to explain them. These phenomena may be arranged in two natural groups: first, those which relate to the combination of the molecules to form a cell, and which may be denominated the plastic phenomena of the cells; secondly, those which result from chemical changes either in the component particles of the cell itself, or in the surrounding cytoblastema [fluid held to be the formative substance from which cells arise], and which may be called metabolic phenomena (tò metabolikòn, implying that which is liable to occasion or to suffer change)." (Microscopical Researches into the Accordance in the Structure and Growth of Animals and Plants, translator Henry Smith, London, 1847).
1841, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing metabolic
Dictionary Entries Near metabolic
Cite this Entry
“Metabolic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/metabolic. Accessed 5 Dec. 2023.
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metabolic
adjective
Medical Definition
metabolic
adjective
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