phenomena
Americannoun
noun
Usage
As with other plurals of Latin or Greek origin, like media and criteria, there is a tendency to use the plural phenomena as a singular ( This phenomena will not be seen again ), but such use occurs infrequently in edited writing. The plural form phenomenas, though occasionally seen, has even less currency.
Etymology
Origin of phenomena
First recorded in 1580–90 with spelling phænomena
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.
This will allow for spectacular views of the International Space Station as well as some of the natural phenomena we're treated to seeing through summer.
From BBC • Jun. 6, 2026
The film arrives at a time when discussions about unidentified aerial phenomena, government transparency and artificial intelligence have moved from the fringes of popular culture into mainstream debate.
From BBC • Jun. 4, 2026
But what are consistently intriguing are the methods of detection—ever-evolving and ever-revealing—focused on historical phenomena.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 26, 2026
By accounting for both processes together, the team demonstrated that the two forms of breathing are not separate phenomena but instead arise from related underlying physics.
From Science Daily • May 21, 2026
But in the case of the geometrical sciences of the seventeenth century the gaps between data and phenomena, and between phenomena and theories, are intended to be virtually non-existent.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
