What does biotechnology mean?
Biotechnology is the application of living organisms, cells, or their components to create useful products and processes. It spans an enormous range of activities: fermenting beer and bread, breeding improved crops, producing medicines such as insulin through engineered bacteria, developing gene therapies, and creating biofuels. Although people have exploited biological processes for millennia, the modern sense of the term took hold in the twentieth century with the rise of molecular biology and genetic engineering. Today 'biotechnology' names both the scientific discipline itself and the multi-billion-dollar industry built upon it, and it is often shortened informally to 'biotech'. The word carries connotations of cutting-edge innovation and medical promise, though it can also appear in critical discussions of genetically modified foods and cloning. It is standard vocabulary in science journalism, academic research, and business alike.
nounThe use of living organisms, cells, or biological systems to develop products and technologies, especially in industry, medicine, and agriculture.
- The exploitation of biological processes or organisms (such as fermentation, cell culture, or genetic modification) for industrial, agricultural, medical, or other practical purposes.
- As a collective term: the industry or field of research concerned with such applications.
"Advances in biotechnology have made it possible to produce insulin using genetically engineered bacteria."
"The biotechnology firm developed a drought-resistant strain of wheat."
"She earned her degree in biotechnology before joining a pharmaceutical research lab."
Rarely pluralized; the plural appears mainly when referring to multiple distinct technologies or techniques within the field.
"Regulators must keep pace with rapidly evolving biotechnologies such as CRISPR gene editing."
Humans were practicing biotechnology thousands of years before anyone coined the word — brewing beer and baking bread are both feats of microbial engineering.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of biotechnology
Biotechnology is a compound of two elements of Greek origin: 'bio-', from Greek 'bios' meaning life, and 'technology', from Greek 'techne' (craft, art) combined with '-logia' (study). The term was formed on the pattern of earlier compounds like biology and technology, emerging in the early twentieth century as scientists began systematically applying biological knowledge to industrial processes. Its cognates include the many English words built from 'bio-' (biology, biochemistry) and 'techno-' (technological, technocracy), which share the same Greek roots rather than deriving directly from it.
Related word forms
How biotechnology is actually used
A formal-to-neutral term used widely in scientific, commercial, and journalistic writing. Often shortened informally to 'biotech', which can also refer specifically to companies in the sector. The word carries broadly positive connotations of innovation, though it is sometimes invoked critically in debates about genetically modified organisms.
Easily confused with biotechnology
Bioethics is the study of the ethical issues raised by advances in biology and medicine, whereas biotechnology is the practical application of biological systems to make products.