What does "mutualism" mean?

Any interaction between two species that benefits both; typically involves the exchange of substances or services.

How do you pronounce "mutualism"?

Pronounced //ˈmjuː.tʃʊ.əˌlɪz.m̩//.

Common synonyms include: bipartisanship, collaboration, collectivism, collusion, communism, community.

//ˈmjuː.tʃʊ.əˌlɪz.m̩// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Noun

1
Any interaction between two species that benefits both; typically involves the exchange of substances or services. countable, uncountable
2
the relation between two different species of organisms that are interdependent; each gains benefits from the other wordnet
3
An economic theory and anarchist school of thought that advocates a society where each person might possess a means of production, either individually or collectively, with trade representing equivalent amounts of labor in the free market. countable, uncountable

From mutual + -ism. Compare French mutualisme and Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish mutualismo.

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