ecosystem
noun
eco·sys·tem
| \ ˈē-kō-ˌsi-stəm
, ˈe-kō-\
, ˈe-kō-\
plural ecosystems
Definition of ecosystem
1
: the complex of a community of organisms and its environment functioning as an ecological unit
That influx of fresh water alters the ocean's salinity near the seafloor, a factor that influences the makeup of the ecosystems in those places.— Sid Perkins Global warming, if it proceeds as many scientists predict, threatens to undo decades of conservation work and could mean the destruction of the monarch butterfly, the edelweiss, the polar bear and innumerable other species living in fragile ecosystems, an emerging body of scientific evidence suggests.— William K. Stevens
2
: something (such as a network of businesses) considered to resemble an ecological ecosystem especially because of its complex interdependent parts
Newspaper layoffs have ripple effects for the entire local news ecosystem because, as the Congressional Research Service noted, television, radio and online outlets often "piggyback on reporting done by much larger newspaper staffs."— David Sirota Lots of Walmart customers are underserved by banks and other financial institutions, [Daniel] Eckert says; the company's experiments with finance-related products and services help customers "not only save money but also have access to a financial ecosystem they were crowded out from."— Rob Walker
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Other Words from ecosystem
ecosystemic
\ ˌē-kō-si-ˈste-mik
, ˌe-kō- \
adjective
, ˌe-kō- \
adjective
The Amazon invariably evokes superlatives and often hyperbole. Stock images such as river dimensions and biotic variety are now joined with notions of forest biomass and ecosystemic complexity.
— Kent Mathewson
The women of Sex and the City occasionally argued, sure, but their ecosystemic purpose—to be there for their friends as they date and search and marry—was always extremely clear.
— Megan Garber
Examples of ecosystem in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The net effect of all these changes on global ecosystems remains unknown. — Christopher Ingraham, Washington Post, "Where the last pristine skies in America are," 6 Aug. 2019 OpenStax alone counts around 50 ecosystem partners to provide homework and testing support. — Brian Barrett, WIRED, "The Radical Transformation of the Textbook," 4 Aug. 2019 Researchers in other African nations have found introducing trees to these tropical grassy biomes can cause loss in biodiversity, alter how these ecosystems work, and reduce water supplies in local streams and rivers. — Haleluya Hadero, Quartz Africa, "Planting millions more trees might not be the way to tackle Ethiopia’s environmental problems," 1 Aug. 2019 How should the country prepare for increased international conflict as ecosystems disintegrate and food and water shortages crop up? — Heather Souvaine Horn, The New Republic, "Let’s Get Into a Fight About Foreign Policy," 1 Aug. 2019 But the worlds of prank culture and vlogging culture that Paul and Mongeau dwell in can’t really exist in other social ecosystems. — Aja Romano, Vox, "Jake Paul and Tana Mongeau’s giant YouTuber wedding married reality TV to the internet," 30 July 2019 Their extinction would almost certainly lead to the extinction of many other species and, eventually, ecosystem collapse. — Cady Drell, Marie Claire, "I Went Diving With Sharks and It Made Me Stop Eating Fish," 26 July 2019 This added heat affects marine ecosystems and may contribute to warming the Northern Hemisphere, so predicting such changes is a key part of modeling what the earth's climate is likely to do. — Leila Sloman, Scientific American, "Magnet and Neuron Model Also Predicts Arctic Sea Ice Melt," 24 July 2019 One of the more specialized components of Africa’s evolving tech ecosystem is the fact that both its creators and users are both growing in numbers. — Kynala Phillips, Essence, "Africa’s Tech Industry Is Booming And It's Time The World Takes Note," 23 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ecosystem.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for ecosystem
ecosystem
noun
English Language Learners Definition of ecosystem
: everything that exists in a particular environment
See the full definition for ecosystem in the English Language Learners Dictionary
ecosystem
noun
eco·sys·tem
| \ ˈē-kō-ˌsi-stəm
, ˈe-\
, ˈe-\
Kids Definition of ecosystem
: the whole group of living and nonliving things that make up an environment and affect each other
ecosystem
noun
eco·sys·tem
| \ -ˌsis-təm
\
\
Medical Definition of ecosystem
: the complex of a community and its environment functioning as an ecological unit in nature
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