: relating to or marked by symbiosis:
a
: characterized by, living in, or being a close physical association (as in mutualism or commensalism) between two or more dissimilar organisms
The truffle is a … fungus that forms a symbiotic relationship with its host tree. Robb Walsh
Termites harbor diverse symbiotic gut microorganisms, the majority of which are as yet uncultivable and their interrelationships unclear. Yuichi Hongoh et al.
b
: characterized by or being a close, cooperative, or interdependent relationship
Today, art advisers are as diverse as the clients they help. They often work alone and form intimate, symbiotic relationships with the people they serve. Deborah Gimelson
Sigal's study … illustrates how reporters' constant need for news and how government officials' need for publicity and favorable coverage for their agencies combine into a symbiotic relationship between Washington reporters and officials. Charles R. Wright
symbiotically adverb
Some species of clams … live symbiotically with sulfur-loving bacteria: the bacteria, which live on the clams' gills, get sulfide from the clams, and the clams, in turn, feed on the bacteria. Natural History
The irony is that the Pentagon and the Soviet Defense Ministry prosper symbiotically. Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.

Examples of symbiotic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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But what lingers just as persistently is a certain slipperiness of intent—a sense that Lynch himself, so aware of the complex, symbiotic play of light and darkness in human nature, was content to flit eternally, and with a mosquito’s fickle curiosity, between two moral poles. Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 4 Feb. 2025 And mutualism, as symbiotic cooperation is called in biology, is vital to life itself. Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 4 Feb. 2025 The developments are set to upend a symbiotic oil trade between the U.S. and its neighbors: Many U.S. refineries are geared to churn the type of heavy and medium crude oil grades Canada produces, for example, and Canada’s oil output exceeds its current demand. Reuters, NBC News, 2 Feb. 2025 This approach could offer an alternative to traditional genetic editing, enabling the development of novel traits through symbiotic partnerships. Barbara A. Perry, Newsweek, 27 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for symbiotic 

Word History

Etymology

symbi(osis) + -otic entry 1, probably after German symbiotisch

First Known Use

1875, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of symbiotic was in 1875

Dictionary Entries Near symbiotic

Cite this Entry

“Symbiotic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/symbiotic. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.

Medical Definition

: relating to, characterized by, living in, or resulting from a state of symbiosis

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