The term amphibolic is used to describe a biochemical pathway that involves both catabolism

Catabolism

Catabolism is the set of metabolic pathways that break down molecules into smaller units and release energy. In catabolism, large molecules such as polysaccharides, lipids, nucleic acids and proteins are broken down into smaller units such as monosaccharides, fatty acids, nucleotides, and amino...

 and anabolism

Anabolism

Anabolism is the set of metabolic pathways that construct molecules from smaller units. These reactions require energy. One way of categorizing metabolic processes, whether at the cellular, organ or organism level is as 'anabolic' or as 'catabolic', which is the opposite...

. The citric acid cycle

Citric acid cycle

The citric acid cycle — also known as the tricarboxylic acid cycle , the Krebs cycle, or the Szent-Györgyi-Krebs cycle — is a series of chemical reactions which is used by all aerobic living organisms to generate energy through the oxidization of acetate derived from carbohydrates, fats and...

(The Krebs Cycle) is a good example. The first reaction of the cycle, in which oxaloacetate (a four carbon compound) condenses with acetate (a two carbon compound) to form citrate (a six carbon compound) is typically anabolic. The next few reactions, which are intramolecular rearrangements, produce isocitrate. The following two reactions are typically catabolic. -COO is lost in each step and succinate (a four carbon compound) is produced.