biodegradationn.
/ˌbʌɪə(ʊ)dɛɡrəˈdeɪʃn/, U.S. /ˌbaɪoʊˌdɛɡrəˈdeɪʃən/ The breakdown and decomposition of a substance or object (esp. refuse or a potential pollutant) by the action of living organisms (esp. bacteria), or their metabolic or biochemical processes.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > condition of matter > bad condition of matter > [noun] > decomposition, melting, or crumbling away
dissolutiona1398
resolution1533
mouldering1562
dissipation1597
deordination1686
decomposition1777
disintegration1794
chemolysis1872
biolysis1897
biodegradation1941
breakdown1959
biodeterioration1960
1941 Jrnl. Biol. Chem. 137 668 The..derivatives of 2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone differ in potency much more than would be expected if they function as precursors of a common product of biodegradation.
1979 P. J. Jacques in W. A. Hemmings Maternofoetal Transmission of Immunoglobulins 213 Certain receptors located in the plasma membrane might, through binding with transmissible immunoglobulins..protect the latter against biodegradation inside secondary lysosomes.
1990 Lifestyle Summer 18/1 Some of the preservatives put in products to make them last longer resist biodegradation by their very nature.
2005 Chicago Tribune (Midwest ed.) 16 Jan. vi. 9/4 (advt.) Apply principles of non-steady state biodegradation to treat water contaminated with fuel oxygenates.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, November 2010; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
<
n.1941