Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

autotroph

/ˈɔtəˌtɹoʊf/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: 0.00 in modern English

Syllables: au-totroph
IPA: /ˈɔtəˌtɹoʊf/

14

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any organism that can synthesize its food from inorganic substances, using heat or light as a source of energy.

Example Sentences

"It is likely that the long evolutionary trajectory of Mycoplasma went from a reductive autotroph to oxidative heterotroph to a cell-wall–defective degenerate parasite. This evolutionary trajectory assumes the simplicity to complexity route of biogenesis, a point of view that is not universally accepted."

Etymology

From auto- (from Ancient Greek αὐτο- (auto-, “self-”)) + -troph (from Ancient Greek τροφή (trophḗ, “nourishment”)).

Origin

Source language: Ancient Greek

Word Breakdown

Prefix: auto
Root: αὐτο-, τροφή
Suffix: troph

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈɔtəˌtɹoʊf/
British English: /ˈɔːtə(ʊ)tɹəʊf/

Inflected Forms

autotrophs (plural)

Derived Forms

autotrophic autotrophically autotrophy chemoautotroph lithoautotroph photoautotroph photolithoautotroph picoautotroph thioautotroph

Frequently Paired Words

extremophile heterotroph

Synonyms

producer autophyte autophytic plant autotrophic organism

Questions

How do you pronounce autotroph?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈɔtəˌtɹoʊf/.
What does autotroph mean?: Any organism that can synthesize its food from inorganic substances, using heat or light as a source of energy.
Where does autotroph come from?: It is traced to Ancient Greek.

How to pronounce autotroph

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “autotroph”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈɔtəˌtɹoʊf/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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Repeat and practice — Say “autotroph” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.