natural history
Americannoun
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the sciences, as botany, mineralogy, or zoology, dealing with the study of all objects in nature: used especially in reference to the beginnings of these sciences in former times.
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the study of these sciences.
noun
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the study of animals and plants in the wild state
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the study of all natural phenomena
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the sum of these phenomena in a given place or at a given time
the natural history of Iran
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of natural history
First recorded in 1560–70
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It’s an era of natural history with striking parallels to our own — climate change, extinction, devastating fires, a wobbling balance between humans and the rest of the natural world.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 6, 2026
The study highlights the lasting importance of natural history collections.
From Science Daily • May 26, 2026
As Sir David Attenborough turns 100, celebrating more than 70 years presenting world-leading natural history programmes, BBC producers and friends who have worked alongside him say there is simply "no-one quite like him".
From BBC • May 8, 2026
Attenborough's natural history series, such as "Life on Earth", in which he had a famous encounter with mountain gorillas in Rwanda, have brought the most remote corners of the planet into living rooms worldwide.
From Barron's • May 6, 2026
Perhaps nothing in natural history has been at the center of fiercer and more enduring hatreds than the line of ancient beasts known as dinosaurs.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
