natural science

noun

1. a science or knowledge of objects or processes observable in nature, as biology or physics, as distinguished from the abstract or theoretical sciences, as mathematics or philosophy.

natural science

noun

1. the sciences collectively that are involved in the study of the physical world and its phenomena, including biology, physics, chemistry, and geology, but excluding social sciences, abstract or theoretical sciences, such as mathematics, and applied sciences

2. any one of these sciences

natural science

1. A science, such as biology, chemistry, or physics, that deals with the objects, phenomena, or laws of nature and the physical world.

Other Word Forms

• natural scientist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of natural science¹

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400

Example Sentences

Their work demonstrates how historical accounts can be validated and violent deaths reconstructed in remarkable detail when the humanities and natural sciences collaborate.

Read more on Science Daily

The Oakland Museum of California is home to more than 2 million objects dedicated to telling the story of California through collections of art, history and natural science.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Do liberal arts schools present students with a core curriculum that expects them to master foundational subjects like economics, a foreign language, composition and natural sciences?

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Because as Marx started to study natural sciences later in the 1850s and 1860s, he came to realize the development of technologies in capitalism actually don't create a condition for emancipation of the working class.

Read more on Salon

Museums dedicated to the natural sciences have long been associated with dark spaces and nature dioramas, but that may be changing.

Read more on New York Times

Related Words

• biology 
• physics