extinct

[ik-stingkt]

adjective

1. no longer in existence; having ended or died out.

   extinct pre-Colombian societies.

2. Biology, Ecology.,  (of a plant or animal species) having no living member remaining anywhere, not in the wild, in a naturalized population, nor in captivity, as categorized by the IUCN Red List: EX

   a list of extinct animals that once inhabited the Isle of Man.

   Synonyms: gone, defunct

3. no longer in use; obsolete.

   an extinct custom.

   Synonyms: archaic

4. extinguished; quenched; not burning.

   evidence of a half dozen extinct campfires.

   Synonyms: out

5. Geology.,  (of a volcano) not having erupted for at least 10,000 years and not expected to erupt again.

extinct

/ ɪkˈstɪŋkt /

adjective

1. (of an animal or plant species) having no living representative; having died out

2. quenched or extinguished

3. (of a volcano) no longer liable to erupt; inactive

4. void or obsolete

   an extinct political office

extinct

1. Having no living members. Species become extinct for many reasons, including climate change, disease, destruction of habitat, local or worldwide natural disasters, and development into new species (speciation). The great majority of species that have ever lived—probably more than 99 percent—are now extinct.

2. No longer active or burning, as an extinct volcano.

Other Word Forms

• nonextinct adjective
• unextinct adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of extinct¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin ex(s)tinctus, past participle of ex(s)tinguere; extinguish ( def. )

Word History and Origins

Origin of extinct¹

C15: from Latin exstinctus quenched, from exstinguere to _extinguish

Synonym Study

See dead.

Example Sentences

Starkey hopes the snake ends up like another animal that nearly went extinct but has since rebounded — Hawaii’s state bird, the Nēnē.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Nǀuu is part of the Tuu language family originally spoken in South Africa and Botswana, many dialects of which are already extinct, said Pan South African Language Board representative Bradley van Sitters.

Read more on Barron's

Skeletal replicas of the terrifying mosasaur, a Komodo Dragon relative with a six-foot jaw; the saber-toothed salmon; and other extinct species greet visitors in the museum’s entrance hall.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

A species of insect thought to have been extinct in Britain since 2016 has been found in north Wales.

Read more on BBC

Stephen Kirtley, from charity Butterfly Conservation, said the species had become extinct in the North East in the 19th Century, but its numbers were growing again, especially in County Durham and Teesside.

Read more on BBC