bioreactor

noun

bio·​re·​ac·​tor ˌbī-ō-rē-ˈak-tər How to pronounce bioreactor (audio)
: a device or apparatus in which living organisms and especially bacteria synthesize useful substances (such as interferon) or break down harmful ones (as in sewage)

Examples of bioreactor in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Similarly, the utility’s engineers have found a way to use less pressure in operating a membrane bioreactor, a machine containing swarms of microorganisms that snack on contaminants in the water. IEEE Spectrum, 28 May 2010 Today six underground pump-and-treat systems hydraulically push contaminants toward the 200 West Groundwater Treatment Plant, a cavernous space filled with silver tubes and tall gray bioreactors. IEEE Spectrum, 28 Apr. 2020 Such meat is produced in bioreactors, which are sterile vats filled with a growing medium. Elizabeth Kolbert, New Yorker, 23 June 2025 Smil calculates that to grow just one per cent of the globe’s current meat output would require something like a hundred times the bioreactor capacity of the world’s entire pharmaceutical industry. Elizabeth Kolbert, New Yorker, 23 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for bioreactor

Word History

First Known Use

1974, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of bioreactor was in 1974

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Cite this Entry

“Bioreactor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bioreactor. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.

Medical Definition

bioreactor

noun
bio·​re·​ac·​tor ˌbī-ō-rē-ˈak-tər How to pronounce bioreactor (audio)
: a device or apparatus in which living organisms and especially bacteria synthesize useful substances (as interferon) or break down harmful ones (as in sewage)
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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