Dictionary
au•to•troph
Pronunciation: (ô'tu-trof", -trōf"), [key]—
n. Biol.
any organism capable of self-nourishment by using inorganic materials as a source of nutrients and using photosynthesis or chemosynthesis as a source of energy, as most plants and certain bacteria and protists. Cf.
heterotroph.Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.