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organism

   Also found in: Medical, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.04 sec.
or·gan·ism  (ôrg-nzm)
n.
1. An individual form of life, such as a plant, animal, bacterium, protist, or fungus; a body made up of organs, organelles, or other parts that work together to carry on the various processes of life.
2. A system regarded as analogous in its structure or functions to a living body: the social organism.

organ·ismal (-nzml), organ·ismic (-mk) adj.
organ·ismi·cal·ly adv.

organism
Noun
1. an animal or plant
2. anything resembling a living creature in structure, behaviour, or complexity: cities are more complicated organisms than farming villages

organism  (ôrg-nzm)
An individual form of life that is capable of growing, metabolizing nutrients, and usually reproducing. Organisms can be unicellular or multicellular. They are scientifically divided into five different groups (called kingdoms) that include prokaryotes, protists, fungi, plants, and animals, and that are further subdivided based on common ancestry and homology of anatomic and molecular structures.

organism
any animal or plant.
See also: Animals
any living thing or anything that resembles a living thing in complexity of structure or function.
See also: Organisms
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.organismorganism - a living thing that has (or can develop) the ability to act or function independently
animate thing, living thing - a living (or once living) entity
benthos - organisms (plants and animals) that live at or near the bottom of a sea
dwarf - a plant or animal that is atypically small
heterotroph - an organism that depends on complex organic substances for nutrition
parent - an organism (plant or animal) from which younger ones are obtained
cell - (biology) the basic structural and functional unit of all organisms; they may exist as independent units of life (as in monads) or may form colonies or tissues as in higher plants and animals
individual, mortal, person, somebody, someone, soul - a human being; "there was too much for one person to do"
animal, animate being, beast, creature, fauna, brute - a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
plant life, flora, plant - (botany) a living organism lacking the power of locomotion
native - indigenous plants and animals
recombinant - a cell or organism in which genetic recombination has occurred
conspecific - an organism belonging to the same species as another organism
carrier - (genetics) an organism that possesses a recessive gene whose effect is masked by a dominant allele; the associated trait is not apparent but can be passed on to offspring
denizen - a plant or animal naturalized in a region; "denizens of field and forest"; "denizens of the deep"
amphidiploid - (genetics) an organism or cell having a diploid set of chromosomes from each parent
diploid - (genetics) an organism or cell having the normal amount of DNA per cell; i.e., two sets of chromosomes or twice the haploid number
haploid - (genetics) an organism or cell having only one complete set of chromosomes
heteroploid - (genetics) an organism or cell having a chromosome number that is not an even multiple of the haploid chromosome number for that species
polyploid - (genetics) an organism or cell having more than twice the haploid number of chromosomes
animalcule, animalculum - microscopic organism such as an amoeba or paramecium
micro-organism, microorganism - any organism of microscopic size
aerobe - an organism (especially a bacterium) that requires air or free oxygen for life
anaerobe - an organism (especially a bacterium) that does not require air or free oxygen to live
crossbreed, hybrid, cross - (genetics) an organism that is the offspring of genetically dissimilar parents or stock; especially offspring produced by breeding plants or animals of different varieties or breeds or species; "a mule is a cross between a horse and a donkey"
polymorph - an organism that can assume more than one adult form as in the castes of ants or termites
congenator, congeneric, relative, congener - an animal or plant that bears a relationship to another (as related by common descent or by membership in the same genus)
plankton - the aggregate of small plant and animal organisms that float or drift in great numbers in fresh or salt water
nekton - the aggregate of actively swimming animals in a body of water ranging from microscopic organisms to whales
parasite - an animal or plant that lives in or on a host (another animal or plant); it obtains nourishment from the host without benefiting or killing the host
host - an animal or plant that nourishes and supports a parasite; it does not benefit and is often harmed by the association
commensal - either of two different animal or plant species living in close association but not interdependent
myrmecophile - an organism such as an insect that habitually shares the nest of a species of ant
eucaryote, eukaryote - an organism with cells characteristic of all life forms except primitive microorganisms such as bacteria; i.e. an organism with `good' or membrane-bound nuclei in its cells
procaryote, prokaryote - a unicellular organism having cells lacking membrane-bound nuclei; bacteria are the prime example but also included are blue-green algae and actinomycetes and mycoplasma
zooid - one of the distinct individuals forming a colonial animal such as a bryozoan or hydrozoan
body part - any part of an organism such as an organ or extremity
tissue - part of an organism consisting of an aggregate of cells having a similar structure and function
2.organism - a system considered analogous in structure or function to a living body; "the social organism"
system, scheme - a group of independent but interrelated elements comprising a unified whole; "a vast system of production and distribution and consumption keep the country going"

organism
noun creature, being, thing, body, animal, structure, beast, entity, living thing, critter U.S. (dialect)
Translations
organism [ˈɔːgənɪzəm] norganismo

organism [ˈɔːgənɪzəm] organ norganisme m

organism [ˈɔːgənɪzəm] organ nOrganismus m

organism [ˈɔːgənɪzəm] norganismo

organism
n organism [ˈoːgənizəm]
a usually small living animal or plant A pond is full of organisms. organisme كائِن حَي организъм organismus organisme der Organismus οργανισμός organismo organism موجود زنده organismi organisme יְצוּר חַי जीव, अवयवी organizam szervezet, organizmus organisme lífvera organismo 生物 유기체, 생물 organizmas, gyva būtybė organisms organisma organisme organisme organizm organismo organism организм organizmus organizem organizam organism สิ่งมีชีวิต canlı varlık, organizma 有機體 організм چھوٹے حيوانات يا پودے sinh vật


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The response of an organism to a given stimulus is very often dependent upon the past history of the organism, and not merely upon the stimulus and the HITHERTO DISCOVERABLE present state of the organism.
Again, a beautiful object, whether it be a living organism or any whole composed of parts, must not only have an orderly arrangement of parts, but must also be of a certain magnitude; for beauty depends on magnitude and order.
In the organism of states such men are necessary, as wolves are necessary in the organism of nature, and they always exist, always appear and hold their own, however incongruous their presence and their proximity to the head of the government may be.
 
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