To save this word, you'll need to log in.
phe·nol·o·gy | \ fi-ˈnä-lə-jē 
\
\Definition of phenology
1 : a branch of science dealing with the relations between climate and periodic biological phenomena (such as bird migration or plant flowering)
2 : periodic biological phenomena that are correlated with climatic conditions
Keep scrolling for more
Other Words from phenology
phenological \ ˌfē-nə-ˈlä-ji-kəl \ adjective
\ adjectivephenologically \ ˌfē-nə-ˈlä-ji-k(ə-)lē \ adverb
\ adverbExamples of phenology in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web Keep planting trees' Lorentz studies the Ohio River ecosystem and said people can already expect to see fewer fish this season from warmer winters two to three years back as part of that balance of phenology.
—
Erin Glynn, Cincinnati.com, "How this year's second-warmest winter will affect your backyard," 30 Mar. 2020 Because of its unique flowering phenology, hemp can potentially provide nutrition to bees during a period of floral scarcity.
—
Kristen Rogers And David G. Allan, CNN, "If you want to save bumble bees, plant these flowers in your yard," 28 Jan. 2020 All are led by naturalists and each has a theme, such as the phenology of when things happen in the natural world, like when lakes freeze, animals come out of hibernation and buds erupt.
—
Brian E. Clark, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Wisconsin botanical gardens and arboretums are a tropical escape in winter," 27 Dec. 2019 Phenology calendar from Leopold Foundation Among Aldo Leopold's many interests was phenology, or the timing of natural events.
—
Paul A. Smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Three Wisconsin books and a calendar to consider as gifts this season," 14 Dec. 2019 The phenology calendar sells for $15 and is available from the foundation at aldoleopold.org.
—
Paul A. Smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Three Wisconsin books and a calendar to consider as gifts this season," 14 Dec. 2019 The bulk of the existing research concerns phenology.
—
Matt Simon, WIRED, "Many Animals Can’t Adapt Fast Enough to Climate Change," 23 July 2019 Morphology refers to physiological changes, like the aforementioned shrinking effect; phenology has to do with the timing of life events such as breeding and migration.
—
Matt Simon, WIRED, "Many Animals Can’t Adapt Fast Enough to Climate Change," 23 July 2019 Trends in spring for Cleveland from a weather perspective
While most scientists use phenology to describe the onset of spring, many Ohioans associate spring with warmer temperatures and drenching downpours.
—
Justin Madden, cleveland.com, "Parma police find missing 12-year-old boy with autism," 28 Feb. 2018
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'phenology.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Comments on phenology
What made you want to look up phenology? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
May 2020 Words of the Day Quiz
- Which is a synonym of exiguous?
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridgedWords at Play
Ask the Editors
Share phenology
Time Traveler for phenology
The first known use of phenology was circa 1884
See more words from the same year