biosafety

noun

bio·​safe·​ty ˌbī-ō-ˈsāf-tē How to pronounce biosafety (audio)
: safety with respect to the effects of biological research on humans and the environment

Examples of biosafety in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The idea is similar to the current biosafety level system that limits access to pathogens such as Ebola virus to certain high-security labs. — Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 10 Aug. 2026 Handling Neisseria meningitidis requires not a college lab, but a level 2 biosafety cabinet, which has special ventilation — and those coming into contact with it must wear personal protective equipment. — Cara Lynn Shultz, PEOPLE, 31 July 2026 In the absence of that administrative work and with little progress being made on the various biosafety laws that have been proposed in Congress, the nation has been left with just the vengeful spectacle of lab-leak prosecutions. — Daniel Engber, The Atlantic, 7 July 2026 The researchers also acknowledged that increasingly sophisticated synthetic cells could raise new biosafety and biosecurity questions. — Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 3 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for biosafety

Word History

First Known Use

1969, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of biosafety was in 1969

Rhymes for biosafety

See All Rhymes for biosafety

Browse Nearby Words

BIOS
biosafety
bioscience
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Biosafety.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/biosafety. Accessed 12 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

Medical Definition

biosafety

noun
bio·​safe·​ty ˈbī-ō-ˌsāf-tē How to pronounce biosafety (audio)
plural biosafeties
: safety with respect to the effects of biological research on humans and the environment
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of gnomic

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

'Gaslighting,' 'Woke,' 'Democracy,' and Other Top Lookups
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
fridge-magnet-letters
Drop a Letter Quiz August 2026 Drop a letter from a word to make a totally diffe...
See All