Bioaccumulative
adj ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 That tends to accumulate in an organism when the organism's ability to remove it is insufficient.
"Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) received a flurry of attention around 2000, when studies of its effects on animal and human health showed that it was bioaccumulative (meaning that it accumulates in body tissue, especially in fat where it can linger for years), persistent, and toxic to mammals."
Example
More examples"Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) received a flurry of attention around 2000, when studies of its effects on animal and human health showed that it was bioaccumulative (meaning that it accumulates in body tissue, especially in fat where it can linger for years), persistent, and toxic to mammals."
Etymology
From bio- + accumulative.
More for "bioaccumulative"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.