Bio- is used at the beginning of nouns and adjectives that refer to life or to the study of living things.
...bio-engineering.
bio in British English
(ˈbaɪəʊ)
nounWord forms: pluralbios
short for biography
bio- in British English
or before a vowel bi-
combining form
1.
indicating or involving life or living organisms
biogenesis
biolysis
2.
indicating a human life or career
biography
biopic
Word origin
from Greek bios life
bio in American English
(ˈbaɪoʊ)
Informal
nounWord forms: pluralˈbios
1.
a biography, often a very brief one
adjective
2. Informal
biographical
bio- in American English
(ˈbaɪoʊ; ˈbaɪə)
life, of living things, biological
biography, biochemistry
Word origin
Gr < bios, life < IE base *gwei-, to live > quick, L vivere, to live, vita, life, OIr biu, living, Gr bioun, to live, zōion, animal
bio in American English
(ˈbaiou)
Word forms: nounplural bios informal
noun
1.
biography
2.
biology
adjective
3.
biographical
4.
biological
a bio control service using praying mantises to reduce the population of garden pests
Word origin
[1945–50; by shortening; as adj., independent use of bio-, taken as a free form]This word is first recorded in the period 1945–50. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: on-line, regression analysis, shootout, synchronized swimming, taxi squadbio- is a combining form meaning “life” occurring in loanwords from Greek (biography). On this model, bio- is used in the formation of compound words (bioluminescence). Other words that use the affix bio- include: bioconversion, biogeochemistry, bioherm, biomechanics, biosocial
Examples of 'bio' in a sentence
bio
Her bio was so perfectly pitched it made news just about everywhere.
The Sun (2013)
Don't expect a complete bio, but that doesn't matter.
Globe and Mail (2004)
Much of the dialogue has been written in classic bio-speak.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
I'd have liked less workaday bio, and more such fun.