An organism capable of synthesizing its own food from inorganic substances, using light or chemical energy. Green plants, algae, and certain bacteria are autotrophs.
auto- +â€Ž -troph
Variant of autotrophic
making its own food by photosynthesis, as a green plant does, or by chemosynthesis, as any of certain bacteria do
Origin of autotrophicauto- + trophic