Meaning & use
species
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Meanings
nouncountablebiology
A basic category of living things whose members look alike and can breed together to have young that can in turn reproduce.
Grammar: The form never changes: one species, three species.
Patterns
- a species of something
- an endangered species
Scientists discovered a new species of frog in the cloud forest.
Over a thousand species of beetle live in this one valley.
The wolf and the domestic dog are close relatives but belong to different species.
nounsingularformalfigurative
A particular kind or type of something, not necessarily alive, used in a slightly formal or humorous way.
Grammar: Usually appears with an or this: a strange species of loneliness.
Patterns
- a species of something
Online arguments are a species of entertainment that nobody admits to enjoying.
He belongs to that rare species of manager who actually listens.
Word forms
| plural | species |
|---|
Common combinations
- endangered species
- The park protects several endangered species of owl.
- invasive species
- Invasive species such as the cane toad have harmed native wildlife.
- a new species
- Divers have found a new species of coral near the reef.
- extinct species
- The museum displays the skeleton of an extinct species of giant bird.
- the human species
- Cooking changed the way the human species developed.
- native species
- Gardeners are encouraged to plant native species that attract bees.
Synonyms and how they differ
- kind
- Kind is an everyday word for any category, while species is a precise scientific grouping in biology.
- breed
- Breed refers to a variety within a domestic species, such as a type of dog, not to a natural species.
- type
- Type is general and loose, whereas species has a fixed scientific meaning when talking about living things.
Word family
- specific adjective
- relating to one particular thing
- specify verb
- to state exactly
- speciation noun
- the process by which new species form
- interspecies adjective
- between different species
Commonly confused: species or specie?
species vs specie
Specie means coins as opposed to paper money and is not the singular of species; the singular is also species.
Practice
Which sentence is correct?
Choose one answer.
Species has the same form in the singular and plural, so 'that species is' and 'these species are' both work. 'Specie' and 'specieses' are not used for living things.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “species”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.