Meaning & use
specimen
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Meanings
nouncountable
A small sample or example of something, often used for testing or study.
Grammar: Countable: a specimen, several specimens.
Patterns
- a specimen of something
- collect specimens
- a blood specimen
The doctor sent a blood specimen to the lab.
The museum has many rock specimens on display.
nouncountablehumorous
A person considered as an example of a particular type, often in a humorous or critical way.
Grammar: Countable, usually singular with 'a'.
Patterns
- a fine specimen
- quite a specimen
He's quite a specimen of a man.
She's a fine specimen of a modern athlete.
Word forms
| plural | specimens |
|---|
Common combinations
- blood specimen
- The nurse took a blood specimen for analysis.
- specimen collection
- Specimen collection must follow strict safety rules.
- a specimen of
- This is a rare specimen of butterfly.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- specimen adjective
- Used before a noun to mean 'used as a sample', as in 'specimen copy'.
Practice
The biologist examined a ___ of a rare plant under the microscope.
Choose one answer.
The singular 'specimen' fits after 'a'. 'Specimens' is plural and would need a plural context. 'Specimen's' is possessive. 'Specimenly' is not a word.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “specimen”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.