Biotech
nounThe branch of technology that uses living cells and organisms to make products, or the industry built around it.
How to spell biotech
7 letters · 3 syllables
How to pronounce biotech
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does biotech mean?
- nounThe branch of technology that uses living cells and organisms to make products, or the industry built around it.
Biotech in a sentence
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She left banking to work for a biotech start-up developing new vaccines.
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The region attracted billions in funding for biotech research and manufacturing.
Where does biotech come from?
Language of origin: Greek
This is a modern clipping of 'biotechnology', a compound built from two Greek roots: bios, meaning 'life', and tekhne, meaning 'skill', 'art', or 'craft', the same element that gives us 'technology' and 'technique'. The full word biotechnology was coined in the early twentieth century to describe the industrial use of living organisms, and it surged into common use as genetic engineering and pharmaceutical science expanded in the 1970s and 1980s. The shortened 'biotech' followed quickly as a brisk, business-friendly label for the sector, its companies, and its stocks. The spelling is phonetically transparent, with the only minor trap being the 'tech' ending, which mirrors 'technology' rather than any '-tek' shortcut. Because both halves are everyday word parts, biotech is one of the easier scientific coinages to spell from memory.
How the word is built
- bio- (Greek bios, life)
- tech (clipped from technology, Greek tekhne, skill or craft)
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