biodiversity
noun
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Biodiversity may become the rallying call for the next decade, wrote David Wake in the journal Science in 1989. Indeed, biodiversity is a word you're likely to encounter in writing about ecology and the environment today. But when Wake used it, "biodiversity" was still a relatively new addition to the English language, having first appeared in writing in the mid-1980s. Of course, the roots of biodiversity are much older. It evolved from a commingling of the descendants of the Greek noun bios, which means "mode of life," and the Latin verb divertere, which means "to turn aside" or "to go different ways."
Examples of biodiversity in a Sentence
Rachel King, Forbes, 22 Mar. 2025
Native and pollinator grasses approved by the Will County Forest Preserve District will be planted under and around the solar panels to increase biodiversity, reduce erosion and support wildlife populations, company documents state.
—Michelle Mullins, Chicago Tribune, 21 Mar. 2025
Deforestation, biodiversity loss and carbon emissions will be major themes at COP30, meaning many will see the move as contradictory.
—Faisal Kutty, Newsweek, 12 Mar. 2025
Its proximity to the volcanic activity that triggered the end-Permian extinction also allowed the Turpan-Hami Basin shelter for crucial biodiversity.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 12 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for biodiversity
Cite this Entry
“Biodiversity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/biodiversity. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.
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biodiversity
noun
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