natural history
Americannoun
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the sciences, as botany, mineralogy, or zoology, dealing with the study of all objects in nature: used especially in reference to the beginnings of these sciences in former times.
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the study of these sciences.
noun
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the study of animals and plants in the wild state
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the study of all natural phenomena
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the sum of these phenomena in a given place or at a given time
the natural history of Iran
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of natural history
First recorded in 1560–70
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It has been described as the first comprehensive series on the natural history of the world's oceans, revealing the spectacular variety of life under the sea.
From BBC • May 8, 2026
Attenborough's natural history series, such as "Life on Earth", in which he had a famous encounter with mountain gorillas in Rwanda, have brought the most remote corners of the planet into living rooms worldwide.
From Barron's • May 6, 2026
Across the street, we visited Vittorio Costantini’s glass studio, equal parts gallery and natural history museum.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 2, 2026
Organiser Laura McCoy, who is MNH's curator of natural history, said while people could access lots of information online, "launching a website is a little bit boring".
From BBC • Apr. 25, 2026
Chemistry was, generally speaking, a science for businesspeople, for those who worked with coal and potash and dyes, and not gentlemen, who tended to be drawn to geology, natural history, and physics.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
