sexual selection

American  

noun

Biology.

1. a special type of natural selection in which the sexes acquire distinct forms either because the members of one sex choose mates with particular features or because in the competition for mates among the members of one sex only those with certain traits succeed.

---

sexual selection British  

noun

1. an evolutionary process in animals, in which selection by females of males with certain characters, such as large antlers or bright plumage, results in the preservation of these characters in the species

---

sexual selection Scientific  

1. The process by which certain organisms produce more offspring by mating more frequently than other organisms of the same sex and thereby ensure the survival of more of their genetic traits. Sexual selection is a form of natural selection in which organisms are competing not for food or other resources in the environment but for mates. The development of size difference between males and females in mammals and birds, in which the greater strength (and often aggressiveness) of larger males allows them to have greater success mating, is seen as a consequence of sexual selection. The development of secondary sex characteristics, such as colored feathers in male birds or large antlers in male deer, which are attractive to the opposite sex as signs of fitness but are not directly involved in reproduction is also attributed to sexual selection. These features are often disadvantageous to the organism's survival—the colored feathers make the male bird more visible to predators, for instance—but can provide the organism with a competitive advantage over rivals in mating. The theory of sexual selection was first proposed by Charles Darwin in The Origin of Species.

---

sexual selection Cultural  

1. In evolution, the selection of a mate based on secondary sex characteristics. Sexual selection is thought to lead distinct differences in the appearance of the two sexes within a species. For example, the tail of the male peacock may be the result of sexual selection.

---

Compare meaning

How does sexual-selection compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• sexual selection vs. natural selection

Example Sentences

Hinckley said more field study would be required to figure out what purpose the fangs might serve, but that their larger size in males suggests they could have some role in sexual selection.

From Science Daily • Dec. 21, 2023

Darwin’s frustration with their seemingly inexplicable elegance eventually led him to the idea of sexual selection.

From National Geographic • Oct. 10, 2023

“When we see something like the fork on Walliserops, it suggests sexual selection because it’s really extreme,” said Alan Gishlick, a paleontologist at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania and an author on the study.

From New York Times • Jan. 16, 2023

Brilliant as he was, he never realized that natural selection and sexual selection aren't quite enough to explain evolution.

From Salon • Jun. 19, 2022

Perhaps their distinctive external appearance involves relatively few genes that arose through sexual selection after they migrated from mainland Asia and became isolated on the Japanese archipelago.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond