ecology

The word “ecology” means the branch of biology that studies how living things relate to each other and to their environment. In plain terms, the scientific study of how living things and their environment fit together.

“Ecology” is pronounced ih-KOL-uh-jee (/ɪˈkɑ.lə.d͡ʒi/ in IPA).

Here is “ecology” used in a sentence: “She's doing a PhD in the ecology of coral reefs.”

“Ecology” is a noun.

The word “ecology” dates back to around 1866 and comes from German. A loan-translation of German Ökologie, coined in 1866 by the biologist Ernst Haeckel from Greek oîkos ("house") plus -logía ("study of") — literally, the "study of the household" of nature.

“Ecology” is an uncommon word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

“Ecology” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: the branch of biology that studies how living things relate to each other and to their environment.

Ecology is specifically the branch of biology that studies how living things relate to each other and to their environment, focusing on organisms and their interactions. Environmental science is a broader, interdisciplinary field that also includes chemistry, geology, and policy alongside biological relationships.

Ecology is the scientific study of relationships between living things and their surroundings, while the environment refers to the surroundings themselves. In other words, ecology is the field of study, and the environment is what that field studies.

Yes, ecology can also describe the pattern of relationships between the parts of any system and their surroundings, extending beyond biology. For example, people sometimes speak of the 'ecology' of a business market or a social network to describe how its parts interact.