What does "bioremediation" mean?

The use of biological organisms, usually microorganisms, to remove contaminants, especially from polluted water.

Bioremediation

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
The use of biological organisms, usually microorganisms, to remove contaminants, especially from polluted water. countable, uncountable
"CONCLUSION. Aspergillus sp. have tremendous potential as bioremediation tool. Different studies indicate that they possess some evolutionary mechanisms to combat toxic situation. Additionally, the existence of hypertolerant strains makes them an automatic choice in the environmental cleaning process. The broad spectrum of organic acids produced by Aspergillus strains is believed to play a key role in minimizing the toxicity of hazardous environmental contaminants. Recent research trends focus on introduction of hypertolerance by means of genetic mutation for better bioremediation capability. As this fungus is naturally occurring in contaminated sites, it automatically helps in minimizing toxic substances of its habitat. Hence Aspergillus strains may be considered as natural cleaners employed by the environment itself for the purpose of bioremediation."
2
the act of treating waste or pollutants by the use of microorganisms (as bacteria) that can break down the undesirable substances wordnet
3
the branch of biotechnology that uses biological process to overcome environmental problems wordnet

"Bioremediation and environmental engineering of Terra saved that planet from pollution and desertification."

From bio- + remediation.

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