bionics

IPA/baɪˈɒn.ɪks/
IPA/baɪˈɑː.nɪks/

bionics — noun

1. the field that develops man-made body parts or support systems that can replace

1.nounC2
Definition

the field that develops man-made body parts or support systems that can replace work done by living tissue

Example

The hospital's bionics team fitted Leo with a hand he could open by thought.

bionics team — medical device work

After the crash, Mert studied bionics to build a better knee brace.

study bionics for body-support devices

Common collocations
  • medical bionics
  • bionics team
  • work in bionics
Synonyms
  • prosthetics

    focuses more narrowly on artificial limbs and fitted replacement parts

  • biomedical engineering

    broader field that includes many medical devices beyond body-replacing systems

Grammar Patterns

work in bionics

medical bionics

Usage Note

Often used for technology that replaces or supports a body part, especially hands, legs, eyes, or hearing. Distinguish from sense 2, which names the wider practice of borrowing ideas from living things for engineering.

Common Mistakes

The company made a bionics leg.
The company made a bionic leg.
bionics names the field or technology; bionic describes one device.

2. the use of ideas from living things to design machines and solve engineering pro

2.nounC2
Definition

the use of ideas from living things to design machines and solve engineering problems

Example

Bao used bionics to copy gecko feet when designing a wall-climbing robot.

use bionics to design by copying nature

Noa wrote her thesis on bionics after studying how birds turn in strong wind.

thesis on bionics — academic study of nature-inspired design

Common collocations
  • study bionics
  • bionics lab
  • use bionics to design
Synonyms
  • biomimetics

    more technical term that stresses copying patterns from nature in design

  • bioengineering

    broader field that also covers work with living tissue and medical systems

  • robotics

    focuses on machines in general, not specifically on ideas borrowed from living systems

Grammar Patterns

study bionics

use bionics to design

Usage Note

Usually names the wider scientific approach rather than one device. Distinguish from sense 1 when the focus is specifically on artificial parts that take over work inside the body.

Common Mistakes

She studies bionic at university.
She studies bionics at university.
bionics is the noun for the field; bionic is usually an adjective.

Word family

  • bionic
    adjectiveC1
  • bionically
    adverbC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/2

Bionics is a broad learner-friendly word for engineering that learns from living things. Biomimetics is closer to research language and usually stresses copying a pattern from nature, such as the grip of a gecko's foot or the shape of a whale fin. Bioengineering is broader still: it includes not only nature-inspired design but also medical and industrial work with tissue, cells, and biological systems. Robotics overlaps with bionics when engineers build machines that move like animals or people, but robotics does not always borrow from biology. A student might study bionics to design a better prosthetic hand, then use robotics to build the hand itself.

bionics ↗biomimetics ↗bioengineering ↗robotics

Common collocations

Nouns

  • bionics lab
  • bionics research
  • bionics team

Phrases

  • study bionics
  • use bionics to design
  • work in bionics

Prepositions

  • in bionics

Etymology

GreekEnglish

Bionics was formed in modern English from bio-, meaning life, and -ics, the ending used in names of sciences and technical fields. The word became common in the mid-twentieth century as engineers began building devices that copied living systems or replaced lost human functions.

First known use

1960

1960, in the meaning defined above