What does "biomass" mean?

The total mass of a living thing or a part thereof (such as a cell).

What is a synonym for "biomass"?

Common synonyms include: biofuel.

Pronounced //ˈbaɪə(ʊ)mæs//.

//ˈbaɪə(ʊ)mæs// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Noun

1
The total mass of a living thing or a part thereof (such as a cell). uncountable, usually
"Since protein constitutes the majority of the biomass of a cell, building new protein is a major way that cells increase their size."
2
the total mass of living matter in a given unit area wordnet
3
The total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc. uncountable, usually
"In the untouched Shangri-la-like Kingman Reef in the Line Islands in the central Pacific, sharks make up 75 per cent of the fish biomass."
4
plant materials and animal waste used as fuel wordnet
5
Organic matter from living things which were recently alive (especially vegetation) used as a fuel or source of energy, especially if cultivated for that purpose; also, fuel produced from such organic matter; biofuel. uncountable, usually
"Advanced technologies such as gasifier/gas turbine systems for electric power generation and fuel cells for transportation make it possible for biomass to provide a substantial share of world energy in the decades ahead, at competitive costs."

"Jellyfish make up up to 40% of the biomass of the ocean."

From bio- (prefix denoting organic life) + mass (“matter, material”).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.