trophic

IPA/ˈtrəʊfɪk/
IPA/ˈtrəʊfɪk/

trophic — adjective

  • trophicpositive
  • more trophiccomparative
  • most trophicsuperlative

1. describing what something eats and how energy or food moves between living thing

1.形容詞C2
釋義

describing what something eats and how energy or food moves between living things in an ecosystem, especially used by scientists when grouping animals and plants by what eats what.

例句

Esteban's class mapped trophic levels in the pond, from algae up to herons.

collocation: trophic level(s)

A single oil spill can disrupt every trophic level along the coast for years.

collocation: trophic level

同義詞

文法句型

trophic + noun (level, cascade, web, chain, structure)

用法筆記

Almost always used before a noun (trophic level, trophic cascade, trophic web) rather than after 'be'. Common in ecology and nutrition writing; rare in everyday English.

常見錯誤

❌The lion is very trophic in this forest.
✅The lion sits at the top trophic level in this forest.
💡'trophic' describes a position in a feeding system; it does not describe an animal on its own.

2. (of a hormone or chemical signal) making a gland in the body send out another ho

2.形容詞C2
釋義

(of a hormone or chemical signal) making a gland in the body send out another hormone into the blood, so one signal triggers a second one.

例句

TSH is a trophic hormone that tells the thyroid to release its own hormones.

collocation: trophic hormone

The pituitary gland sends out several trophic hormones that control glands all over the body.

collocation: trophic hormones (pituitary)

同義詞

文法句型

trophic + hormone / effect

用法筆記

Only used before a noun, almost always paired with 'hormone', 'effect', or 'signal'. Distinguish from sense 1: this sense is about one hormone triggering another inside the body, not about eating or ecosystems.

常見錯誤

❌Insulin is trophic.
✅TSH is a trophic hormone for the thyroid.
💡'trophic' here needs an object gland or hormone it acts on; it is not a standalone label.