biomass

noun

bio·​mass ˈbī-ō-ˌmas 

1

: the amount of living matter (as in a unit area or volume of habitat)

2

: plant materials and animal waste used especially as a source of fuel

Examples of biomass in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

And although burning a tree releases roughly the same amount of carbon as natural decomposition, just faster, the amount of carbon that widespread biomass combustion would release all at once would be disastrous. —Hannah Kirshner, The Atlantic, 8 Feb. 2025

Petrochemicals from fossil biomass replace, or try to substitute for, fire’s ecological effects. —Stephen Pyne, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Jan. 2025

The process of growing, harvesting and converting biomass can require a lot of land, water and energy. —Swish Goswami, Forbes, 22 Jan. 2025

That biomass comes from another world and has no place in this one. —Stephen A. Pyne, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1931, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

biomass

noun

bio·​mass

ˈbī-ō-ˌmas

1

: the amount of living matter (as in an area or volume of habitat)

2

: plant materials and animal waste used especially as a source of fuel

Medical Definition

biomass

noun

bio·​mass -ˌmas 

: the amount of living matter (as in a unit area or volume of habitat)