What does biological mean?
Biological is an adjective describing anything connected with biology — the science of living things — or with the processes characteristic of living organisms, such as growth, reproduction, and metabolism. It appears constantly in scientific contexts: researchers speak of biological diversity, biological clocks that govern sleep and seasonal rhythms, and biological weapons that harness pathogens for warfare. Beyond the laboratory, the word has an important everyday use in discussions of family: one's biological parents, children, or siblings are those linked by shared genes rather than by adoption, marriage, or legal arrangement, so a person might say they were raised by their biological mother or met their biological father for the first time as an adult. Derived from Greek roots via the modern term 'biology', coined around 1800, it conveys precision and neutrality, carrying neither praise nor blame. Its companion adverb 'biologically' allows the idea to modify verbs, as in biologically impossible.
Relating to biology, living organisms, or the processes of life.
"The wetland supports remarkable biological diversity."
(Of a relative) genetically related rather than related by adoption, marriage, or legal ties.
"He searched for years before locating his biological sister."
The word 'biology' itself was coined around 1800, and 'biological' arrived with it — before that, science had no single word for 'the study of life.'
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of biological
The word derives from the Greek roots bios ('life') and logos ('study'), combined in the modern term 'biology', which emerged in European scientific vocabulary around 1800 independently in the work of naturalists such as Lamarck and Treviranus. The adjective 'biological' formed from this new noun soon followed, entering English in the early nineteenth century alongside the rapid professionalization of the life sciences. It shares its Greek roots with words such as symbiosis, biosphere, and antibiotic.
Related word forms
How biological is actually used
Standard in both formal and everyday register. In family contexts, 'biological' carries no stigma but is often contrasted deliberately with adoptive, step-, or foster relationships. In scientific writing it is ubiquitous across fields such as ecology, medicine, and genetics.
Easily confused with biological
'Biologic' is a largely archaic variant of 'biological' as an adjective, though in modern medicine it refers specifically to a drug derived from living cells.