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

See Examples For:

Darwin

It was as if the message Darwin hoped to convey—that life was a constant process of loss, change and renewal—was also true of the book that has come to define him.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

We found out that the daughters of the geologist Leonard Horner invited Darwin to come over for a visit—in Maōri, which they thought would impress the world traveler.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

For our new study, we crushed up samples of the mudstone cores stored in Darwin, then dissolved them.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 27, 2026

Stored in an open-air warehouse in tropical Darwin, Australia, are dozens of trays containing cylindrical cores of rock.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 27, 2026

There, like Darwin, he observed astonishing differences between closely related species that had been separated by channels of water.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee