saprophyte
1
9.9
- noun
- /ˈsæprəˌfaɪt/
- Specialized
:
saprófito
- A typical saprophyte feeds on decaying plant material, helping to recycle nutrients in the soil.
- saprophyte organism
Examples
-
Saprophytic colonization occurs, wherein there is very little inflammatory host response to the saprophyte.
Academic text (2005) -
The fungus in the old log is a saprophyte that decomposes dead wood.
-
The long mud-colored buildings were built of a saprophyte growth, pressed into shape and dried hard as wood.
Fiction book (1998) -
You cheap ass, chrome dome... ... child molesting, saprophyte motherfucker.
-
Alternaria alternata is a soil saprophyte and a common pathogen.
Academic text (2007) -
They are saprophytes commonly found in soil, decomposed vegetation, and in the healthy human respiratory and digestive tracts, and their distribution is worldwide.
Academic text (2004) -
Examples of phenomena are saprophytes (organisms, especially fungi or bacteria that feed on decaying organic material) that clear the earth of detritus, and tree respiration, which aids in recycling both air and water.
Academic text (2001) -
Many saprophytes, such as bacteria, play a crucial role in breaking down organic matter in ecosystems.
Synonyms
A living thing that eats dead plants or animals
A living thing such as mushrooms or bacteria that feeds on rotting plants and animals
A plant, fungus, or animal that feeds on dead plants and animals
An organism like a fungus or worm that breaks down dead plants and animals and returns nutrients to the soil
Antonyms
- Specialized
111
4.2
A living thing that lives on or inside another living thing and takes food from it
Surface Forms
Morphology
saprophyte = sapro + phyte
Built from specialized Greek combining forms ('sapro-' and '-phyte') that are not familiar standalone English words, so learners cannot reliably infer the meaning from the parts.
Etymology
Saprophyte comes from Greek parts sapro- meaning 'rotten' and -phyte meaning 'plant'. So a saprophyte is a living thing that 'eats' dead or rotten material (often fungi or bacteria) and helps break down and recycle dead plants and animals.