What does "catabolism" mean?

Destructive (lytic) metabolism or metabolization, usually including the release of energy and breakdown of materials.

How do you pronounce "catabolism"?

Pronounced //kəˈtæbəlɪzm//.

Common synonyms include: anabolism, assimilation, avatar, basal metabolism, catabolisation, catabolization.

//kəˈtæbəlɪzm// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Noun

1
Destructive (lytic) metabolism or metabolization, usually including the release of energy and breakdown of materials. uncountable, usually
2
breakdown in living organisms of more complex substances into simpler ones together with release of energy wordnet

From Ancient Greek καταβολή (katabolḗ, “throwing down”), from κατά (katá, “down”) + βάλλω (bállō, “I throw”).

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