genus
Biology. the usual major subdivision of a family or subfamily in the classification of organisms, usually consisting of more than one species.
Logic. a class or group of individuals, or of species of individuals.
a kind; sort; class.
Origin of genus
1Other words from genus
- pseu·do·ge·nus, noun, plural pseu·do·gen·e·ra, pseu·do·ge·nus·es.
Words that may be confused with genus
Words Nearby genus
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use genus in a sentence
That genus and seven other related living ones make up the Camponotini ant “tribe,” all of which have bacteria inside their gut cells.
How Two Became One: Origins of a Mysterious Symbiosis Found | Viviane Callier | September 9, 2020 | Quanta MagazineHe and colleagues assigned the fossil, which was eroding out of previously dated sediment at a site called Ramnagar, to a new genus and species, Kapi ramnagarensis.
A stray molar is the oldest known fossil from an ancient gibbon | Bruce Bower | September 8, 2020 | Science NewsThe reptile, from the genus Guizhouichthyosaurus, lived during the Triassic Period about 240 million years ago.
This ichthyosaur died after devouring a creature nearly as long as itself | Maria Temming | August 20, 2020 | Science NewsMany modern animals have close relatives — other species that are in their same genus.
Instead, they sorted the ancient prints into a “footprint genus.”
These crocodile ancestors lived a two-legged life | Carolyn Gramling | July 23, 2020 | Science News For Students
The genus-species distinction that we still use is a legacy of Aristotle.
Many products list only the genus and species, but different strains provide different benefits (more on that later).
The most common probiotic bacteria come from two genus groups: Lactobacillus or Bifidobacterium, although there are many others.
Others in the vast genus of viruses—at least 100—cause human disease.
He has studied the Vibrio genus of bacteria for more than 40 years and still finds it eminently fascinating.
Inside Florida’s Battle With the Flesh-Eating Vibrio Vulnificus | Jacqui Goddard | October 8, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTThus we see that these two lines bear towards each other the relation of genus and species.
Assimilative Memory | Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)The sexual cycle can take place only within the body of one genus of mosquito, anopheles.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell ToddM. Peron says that it forms a new genus, and of a very remarkable character.
This genus appears to be nearly allied to the Agamae, but differs from them in the peculiar frill that is appended to the neck.
There are two other species of this genus in Captain King's collection, which appear to be new.
British Dictionary definitions for genus
/ (ˈdʒiːnəs) /
biology any of the taxonomic groups into which a family is divided and which contains one or more species. For example, Vulpes (foxes) is a genus of the dog family (Canidae)
logic a class of objects or individuals that can be divided into two or more groups or species
a class, group, etc, with common characteristics
maths a number characterizing a closed surface in topology equal to the number of handles added to a sphere to form the surface. A sphere has genus 0, a torus, genus 1, etc
Origin of genus
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for genus
[ jē′nəs ]
A group of organisms ranking above a species and below a family. The names of genera, like those of species, are written in italics. For example, Periplaneta is the genus of the American cockroach, and comes from the Greek for wandering about. See Table at taxonomy.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for genus
[ (jee-nuhs) ]
In biology, the classification lower than a family and higher than a species. Wolves belong to the same genus as dogs. Foxes belong to a different genus from that of dogs and wolves, but to the same family. (See Linnean classification.)
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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