What does "bionics" mean?

The design of engineering systems, especially electronic ones, based on that of biological systems.

How do you pronounce "bionics"?

Pronounced //ˈbaɪˌɒnɪks//.

Bionics

Q: What is a synonym for "bionics"?

Common synonyms include: aerobiology, agrobiology, anatomy, astrobiology, automatic electronics, autonetics.

//ˈbaɪˌɒnɪks// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
The design of engineering systems, especially electronic ones, based on that of biological systems. uncountable
2
application of biological principles to the study and design of engineering systems (especially electronic systems) wordnet
3
biomimetics uncountable

Synonyms

All synonyms

aerobiology agrobiology anatomy astrobiology automatic electronics autonetics

Etymology

From bio- + electronics. Coined by US Air Force medical doctor Jack E. Steele in 1958 to refer to the "flow of concepts from biology to engineering and vice versa".

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