The word amphibolic is most often used in biochemistry to describe chemical processes that both break down substances and build new ones. It is also used to describe a certain group of silicate minerals that are part of igneous and metamorphic rock.
In biochemistry, amphibolic technically describes something that is both catabolic (breaks down substances) and anabolic (builds substances), words that relate to the internal chemical processes that sustain life. The shared -bolic comes from a Greek word meaning "to throw or hit." Amphi-, also Greek, means "both," so amphibolic could refer to both types of "hitting" a chemical: First, it breaks a chemical down, and then, it builds something new with the pieces. Sometimes, in everyday speech, the word amphibolic is used to mean "vague" or "uncertain."