symbiont UK /sɪmˈbaɪ.ɒnt/US /sɪmˈbaɪ.ɑnt/ noun1 •An organism that lives in a symbiotic relationship.It had been known that sponges somehow took in dissolved organic matter, but it remained unclear whether they could do it on their own or needed help from their bacterial symbionts. — 2019 formssymbionts