Lamarck

American  

[luh-mahrk, la-mark] / ləˈmɑrk, laˈmark /

noun

1. Jean Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet de 1744–1829, French naturalist: pioneer in the field of comparative anatomy.

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Lamarck British  

/ lamark /

noun

1. Jean Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet (ʒɑ̃ batist pjɛr ɑ̃twan də mɔnɛ), Chevalier de Lamarck. 1744–1829, French naturalist. He outlined his theory of organic evolution (Lamarckism) in Philosophie Zoologique (1809)

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Lamarck Scientific  

/ lə-märk′,lä- /

1. French naturalist who introduced the taxonomic distinction between vertebrates and invertebrates. His theory that the acquired characteristics of a species could be inherited by later generations was a forerunner to Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, although it was eventually discredited.

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Example Sentences

Giraffes, contra Lamarck, didn’t reach for high leaves, develop long necks and then pass those necks on to their descendants.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026

Lamarck disputed this, arguing “that life at its essence is creative agency, that living beings, especially the smallest and humblest of them, continually remake the world,” as well as themselves.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026

In their classic theories of evolution, both Jean Baptiste Lamarck and Charles Darwin suggested that giraffes' long necks evolved to help them reach leaves high up in a tree, avoiding competition with other herbivores.

From Science Daily • Jun. 3, 2024

The last such theory, proposed by Lamarck in the nineteenth century, was replaced by the theory of natural selection.

From Textbooks • Apr. 25, 2013

Charles agreed with much of what Lamarck had to say, especially that the environment in which an animal lives causes it to change.

From "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman