Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
phototropism

phototropism

1 9.3
Growth toward light by a plant or other living thing
  • noun
  • /ˌfoʊtəˈtroʊpɪzəm/
  • Specialized
: fototropismo
  • Plants demonstrate phototropism when they bend and lean towards a light source.

Examples

  • During a science experiment, we observed how phototropism caused the seedlings to grow towards the window.

  • This alters the shrimp's normal negative phototropism and causes individuals to surface more frequently than normal, making them more vulnerable to seagull predation.

    Academic text (1990)

  • Grant explored phototropism in night-flying insects, using time-lapse photography and waking to an alarm at regular intervals through the night to observe moths at an ultraviolet light station.

    Academic text (2009)

  • The sunflower exhibits phototropism by growing towards the sun during the day.

Synonyms

heliotropism
vsphototropism
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A plant's movement or growth toward the sun to get more light

includes response to any light source rather than only sunlight

Surface Forms

phototropism singular
phototropisms plural

Morphology

phototropism = tropism (semi-transparent) = photo + trop + ism

Adding photo- to tropism yields a specific type of tropism involving light.

Etymology

The word phototropism comes from the parts photo- meaning 'light' as in photograph and -trop- meaning 'turn'. So phototropism literally means 'turning toward light', which is why plants bend toward a window.