Darwin

American  

[dahr-win] / ˈdɑr wɪn /

noun

1. Charles (Robert), 1809–82, English naturalist and author.

2. his grandfather Erasmus, 1731–1802, English naturalist and poet.

3. a seaport in and the capital of Northern Territory, in N Australia.

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Darwin ¹ British  

/ ˈdɑːwɪn /

noun

1. Former name (1869–1911): Palmerston.  a port in N Australia, capital of the Northern Territory: destroyed by a cyclone in 1974 but rebuilt on the same site. Pop: 71 347 (2001)

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Darwin ² British  

/ ˈdɑːwɪn /

noun

1. Charles ( Robert ). 1809–82, English naturalist who formulated the theory of evolution by natural selection, expounded in On the Origin of Species (1859) and applied to man in The Descent of Man (1871)

2. his grandfather, Erasmus. 1731–1802, English physician and poet; author of Zoonomia, or the Laws of Organic Life (1794–96), anticipating Lamarck's views on evolution

3. Sir George Howard , son of Charles Darwin. 1845–1912, English astronomer and mathematician noted for his work on tidal friction

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Darwin Scientific  

/ där′wĭn /

1. British naturalist who proposed the theory of evolution based on natural selection (1858). Darwin's theory, that random variation of traits within an individual species can lead to the development of new species, revolutionized the study of biology.

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Other Word Forms

• anti-Darwin
  adjective
• pro-Darwin
  adjective

Example Sentences

Darwin is Australia's closest port to Asia, and cargo shipments of commodities including iron ore and liquefied natural gas to China have dominated trade ties.

From Barron's • May 21, 2026

Police said they removed Lewis for his safety from hospital to the Northern Territory capital of Darwin, where he was being held in custody.

From Barron's • May 1, 2026

The woman, who was with her husband and two children, was on the way home to Canberra after visiting relatives in Darwin when the incident happened, according to the Action for Alice community Facebook page.

From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026

Charles Darwin, with his ideas of undirected variation and natural selection, described what was really happening.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026

What hand, Darwin asked, had guided the creation of such different varieties of finches on those distant volcanic islands or made small armadillos out of giant precursors on the plains of South America?

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee