natural history
Americannoun
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natural histories
plural
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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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
Their models were built from fossils preserved in natural history museums around the world.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 20, 2026
"The United States is the only country in the world where fossils like this are considered personal property," Cassandra Hatton, head of science and natural history at Sotheby's, told AFP before the auction.
From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026
It adds to a growing debate in the natural history world – should specimens of such scientific importance be reserved for museums and their scientists?
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
It’s an era of natural history with striking parallels to our own — climate change, extinction, devastating fires, a wobbling balance between humans and the rest of the natural world.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2026
He had loved natural history since he was a boy; he wrote late in life, “my love of natural science has been steady and ardent.”
From "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman
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.
