Noun

(en noun)

(biology) A discrete and complete living thing, such as animal, plant, fungus or microorganism.

*{{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-20, volume=408, issue=8845, magazine=(The Economist)

, title= Welcome to the plastisphere , passage=Plastics are energy-rich substances, which is why many of them burn so readily. Any organism that could unlock and use that energy would do well in the Anthropocene. Terrestrial bacteria and fungi which can manage this trick are already familiar to experts in the field.}}

(by extension) Any complex thing with properties normally associated with living things.

Noun

(en noun)

(uncountable) The process of isolating a particular organism from all others.

The axenization of microbes allows concentrated groups to be studied in a pure culture.

(countable) An instance of this process.

The lab succeeded in 60% of the axenizations that it attempted.