metabolic

adjective

met·​a·​bol·​ic ˌme-tə-ˈbä-lik How to pronounce metabolic (audio)
: of, relating to, or based on metabolism
metabolically adverb

Examples of metabolic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Others believe that antihistamines cause metabolic changes that directly increase fat reserves in the body. Daniel More, Verywell Health, 9 Mar. 2024 Providing additional information is the basic metabolic panel, or BMP, which measures the amount various substances in your blood. Brad Reisfeld, Discover Magazine, 12 Feb. 2024 Because the symptoms often overlap with other metabolic conditions, providers must first rule out several other potential causes and complete some tests. Claire Bugos, Verywell Health, 29 Feb. 2024 Our body is constantly producing waste products: substances that are left over from metabolic processes, such as protein synthesis, but cannot be put to any other use. William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 As the fasting period goes on, the seals practice holding their breath longer and longer by lowering their metabolic rate, Beltran explains. Brian Handwerk, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Jan. 2024 Other research has suggested that a sedentary lifestyle can lead to a wide range of health risks that include: cardiovascular disease, cancer risk, metabolic disorders like diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and even depression and cognitive impairment. Lauryn Higgins, Health, 1 Nov. 2023 Princess Anderson was admitted to an ICU with a diagnosis of psychosis, acute renal failure, a metabolic disorder and sepsis. Isabelle Taft, ProPublica, 7 Dec. 2023 Back then, psychiatrists were just beginning to understand anorexia as a mental illness, one with neurological and metabolic components. Katie Engelhart, New York Times, 3 Jan. 2024

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

Etymology

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).

First Known Use

1841, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of metabolic was in 1841

Dictionary Entries Near metabolic

Cite this Entry

“Metabolic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/metabolic. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

metabolic

adjective
met·​a·​bol·​ic ˌmet-ə-ˈbäl-ik How to pronounce metabolic (audio)
: of, relating to, or based on metabolism
metabolic activity
a metabolic disorder
metabolically adverb

Medical Definition

metabolic

adjective
met·​a·​bol·​ic ˌmet-ə-ˈbäl-ik How to pronounce metabolic (audio)
1
: of, relating to, or based on metabolism
2
: vegetative sense 1a(2)
used especially of a cell nucleus that is not dividing
metabolically adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on metabolic

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