extirpation

American  

[ek-ster-pey-shuhn] / ˌɛk stərˈpeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. Biology, Ecology. (of a species) the state or condition of having become locally or regionally extinct.

   Forest elephants in Central Africa have experienced a 65 percent reduction in their populations, and extirpation is imminent if the poaching rate persists.

2. Medicine/Medical. the removal or excision of a tumor, organ, etc..

   Minor controllable bleeding was the only noted complication associated with lymph node extirpation in two of the thirty-nine performed procedures.

---

Etymology

Origin of extirpation

First recorded in 1540–50, for an earlier sense; extirpat(e) ( def. ) + -ion ( def. )

Example Sentences

The Golden State’s gray wolves were hunted and trapped to extirpation a century ago.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 30, 2024

The tribe has watched salmon harvest decline by more than 80% in the past decades, and the unaddressed impacts of climate change are sending the salmon toward extirpation, Brimmer argued in the letter.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 22, 2024

The magnificent ramshorn is endemic to the lower Cape Fear River Basin, and lived in three captive populations in North Carolina since 2004 following its extirpation from the wild, according to the wildlife commission.

From Washington Times • Nov. 21, 2023

Where species collapse does not occur, “climate change may result in large-scale mortality and population extirpation due to maladaptation of populations.”

From Scientific American • May 5, 2023

What Billroth has described under the name of muco-salivary diphtheritis, as it occurs after the extirpation of a large portion of the tongue and resection of the lower jaw, belongs to this class.

From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various