Words / B2

m-uh-TAB-uh-liz-uh-m/məˈtæbəlɪzəm/

Metabolism is the chemical processes that turn food into energy in a living thing: resting metabolism; metabolic rate. Digestion is breaking food down; energy is the outcome. Resting metabolism is not a diet advert. Adjective: metabolic. Mix-up: metaphor is a comparison (already elsewhere); metabolic vs metabolise (verb). Do not write metabolism for “how hungry you feel”.

Meaning

The chemical processes in a living thing that turn food into energy.

Examples

• “Resting metabolism featured in the PE physiology paper, not a diet advert.”
• “A metabolic pathway featured in the biology booklet, which is the chemistry-in-cells sense.”

Good to know

metabolism; metabolic rate / pathway. Contrast: digestion. Trap: metaphor. PE and biology. Cell chemistry, not a figure of speech.

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