Revised 2010

bioinformaticsnoun

Etymology
Meaning & use
Pronunciation
Frequency

Quotations

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Factsheet

What does the noun bioinformatics mean?

There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun bioinformatics. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.

See meaning & use

How common is the noun bioinformatics?

About 0.2occurrences per million words in modern written English

Oct.–Dec. 2017	0.0038
Jan.–Mar. 2018	0.0035
Apr.–June 2018	0.0033
July–Sept. 2018	0.0034
Oct.–Dec. 2018	0.0055
Jan.–Mar. 2019	0.0075
Apr.–June 2019	0.0092
July–Sept. 2019	0.011
Oct.–Dec. 2019	0.012
Jan.–Mar. 2020	0.015
Apr.–June 2020	0.02
July–Sept. 2020	0.02
Oct.–Dec. 2020	0.023
Jan.–Mar. 2021	0.026
Apr.–June 2021	0.027
July–Sept. 2021	0.029
Oct.–Dec. 2021	0.029
Jan.–Mar. 2022	0.027
Apr.–June 2022	0.027
July–Sept. 2022	0.024
Oct.–Dec. 2022	0.023
Jan.–Mar. 2023	0.022

See frequency

How is the noun bioinformatics pronounced?

British English

/ˌbʌɪəʊɪnfəˈmatɪks/

bigh-oh-in-fuh-MAT-iks

U.S. English

/ˌbaɪoʊˌɪnfərˈmædɪks/

bigh-oh-in-fuhr-MAD-iks

See pronunciation

Where does the noun bioinformatics come from?

Earliest known use

1970s

The earliest known use of the noun bioinformatics is in the 1970s.

OED's earliest evidence for bioinformatics is from 1976, in Acta Biotheoretica.

bioinformatics is formed within English, by compounding.

Etymons: bio- comb. form, informatics n.

See etymology

Nearby entries

biohazardous, adj.1973–
bioherm, n.1928–
biohermal, adj.1937–
bioidentical, adj.1995–
bioimaging, n.1983–
bioindicator, n.1955–
bioindustry, n.1973–
bioinformatic, adj.1985–
bioinformatician, n.1996–
bioinformaticist, n.1994–
bioinformatics, n.1976–
bioink, n.2003–
bioinorganic, adj.1970–
bioinsecticide, n.1970–
bio-inspired, adj.1992–
bioinstrumentation, n.1959–
bio-intensive, adj.1977–
bioinvader, n.1959–
bioinvasion, n.1976–
biokinetic, adj.1915–
biokinetics, n.1883–

Browse more nearby entries

Etymology

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Meaning & use

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Pronunciation

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Institutional access

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Frequency

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Entry history for bioinformatics, n.

bioinformatics, n. was first published in September 2002

bioinformatics, n. was last modified in July 2023

oed.com is a living text, updated every three months. Modifications may include:

further revisions to definitions, pronunciation, etymology, headwords, variant spellings, quotations, and dates;
new senses, phrases, and quotations.

Revisions and additions of this kind were last incorporated into bioinformatics, n. in July 2023.

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Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “,” , .

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Citation details

Factsheet for bioinformatics, n.

Browse entry

Nearby entries

biohazardous, adj.1973–
bioherm, n.1928–
biohermal, adj.1937–
bioidentical, adj.1995–
bioimaging, n.1983–
bioindicator, n.1955–
bioindustry, n.1973–
bioinformatic, adj.1985–
bioinformatician, n.1996–
bioinformaticist, n.1994–
bioinformatics, n.1976–
bioink, n.2003–
bioinorganic, adj.1970–
bioinsecticide, n.1970–
bio-inspired, adj.1992–
bioinstrumentation, n.1959–
bio-intensive, adj.1977–
bioinvader, n.1959–
bioinvasion, n.1976–
biokinetic, adj.1915–
biokinetics, n.1883–

Browse more nearby entries