biomass en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
- /ˈbaɪoʊˌmæs/ (General-American)
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈbaɪə(ʊ)mæs/ (Received-Pronunciation)
Etymology
From bio- (prefix denoting organic life) + mass (“matter, material”).
Meanings
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(uncountable, usually) The total mass of a living thing or a part thereof (such as a cell).
Since protein constitutes the majority of the biomass of a cell, building new protein is a major way that cells increase their size.
2005, David A. Guertin, David M. Sabatini, “Cell Size Control”, in Encyclopedia of Life Sciences, volume IV, Chichester, West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons, →DOI, →ISBN:
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(uncountable, usually) The total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.
In the untouched Shangri-la-like Kingman Reef in the Line Islands in the central Pacific, sharks make up 75 per cent of the fish biomass.
2012 August 2, Theo Tait, “Don’t Wear Yum-yum Yellow [review of Demon Fish: Travels through the Hidden World of Sharks (2012) by Juliet Eilperin]”, in London Review of Books, volume 34, number 15, London: LRB Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 04 Dec 2022:
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(uncountable, usually) Organic matter derived from living things that were recently alive (especially vegetation) used as a fuel or source of energy, especially if cultivated for that purpose; also, fuel produced from such organic matter; biofuel.
All vegetation and tree stumps were sent to a local recycling facility to be turned into biomass.
2020 August 26, Andrew Mourant, “Reinforced against Future Flooding”, in Rail, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire: Bauer Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, pages 60–61:Advanced technologies such as gasifier/gas turbine systems for electric power generation and fuel cells for transportation make it possible for biomass to provide a substantial share of world energy in the decades ahead, at competitive costs.
1994, Robert Williams, “Roles for Biomass Energy in Sustainable Development”, in R[obert Harry] Socolow, C. Andrews, F. Berkhout, V. Thomas, editors, Industrial Ecology and Global Change, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire; New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press, published 1997, →ISBN, abstract, page 199:Among the key contracts she works on is the supply of coal and biomass to Drax power station and extensive rail operations for British Steel.
2020 April 22, Paul Stephen, “COVID-19: Meet the Railway Heroes”, in Rail, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire: Bauer Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 41:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| biomasses | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
nonbiomass · redundant biomass · zoobiomass · photobiomass · phytobiomass
Relateds
biofuel · body mass index · bodymass · bioenergy · mineralomass
Translations (63)
ga bithmhais (total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.) · fr biomasse (total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.) · de Biomasse (organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy) · tl haykimpal (total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.) · tr biyokütle (organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy) · fa زیستتوده (total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.) · eo biomaso (total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.) · nl biomassa (organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy) · es biomasa (total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.) · kk биомасса (total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.) · ru биома́сса (total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.) · cy biomas (organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy) · de Biomasse (total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.) · cs biomasa (total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.) · sv biomassa (organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy) · cs biomasa (organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy) · ga bithmhais (organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy) · nl biomassa (total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.) · tr biyokütle (total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.) · fi biomassa (organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy) · gl biomasa (total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.) · es biomasa (organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy) · cmn 生物質能 /生物质能 (organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy) · cy biomas (total mass of a living thing or a part thereof) · cmn 生物量 (total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.) · ca biomassa (organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy) · fr biomasse (organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy) · uk біома́са (total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.) · ky биомасса (total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.) · cy biomas (total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.) · pl biomasa (organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy) · vi sinh khối loài (total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.) · ru биома́сса (organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy) · pt biomassa (organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy) · an biomasa (total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.) · nn biomasse (total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.) · he בִּיּוֹמַסָּה (total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.) · nb biomasse (total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.) · kk биомасса (organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy) · km ជីវម៉ាស (organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy) · sv biomassa (total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.) · id biomassa (total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.) · pl biomasa (total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.) · mk биома́са (total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.) · ro biomasă (total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.) · pl biomasa (total mass of a living thing or a part thereof) · ar كتلة بيولوجية (total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.) · vi sinh khối (organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy) · tl haykimpal (organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy) · el βιομάζα (organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy) · fi biomassa (total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.) · it biomassa (organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy) · az biokütlə (total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.) · ja バイオマス (total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.) · pt biomassa (total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.) · mk биома́са (organic matter from living things which were recently alive used as a fuel or source of energy) · ca biomassa (total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.) · vi sinh khối (total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.) · lt biomasė (total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.) · fi biomassa (total mass of a living thing or a part thereof) · et biomass (total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.) · el βιομάζα (total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.) · io biomaso (total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.)