science

American  

[sahy-uhns] / ˈsaɪ əns /

noun

• sciences
  plural

1. a branch of knowledge or study dealing with a body of facts or truths systematically arranged and showing the operation of general laws.

   the mathematical sciences.

2. systematic knowledge of the physical or material world gained through observation and experimentation.

3. any of the branches of natural or physical science.

4. systematized knowledge in general.

5. knowledge, as of facts or principles; knowledge gained by systematic study.

6. a particular branch of knowledge.

7. skill, especially reflecting a precise application of facts or principles; proficiency.

   Synonyms:

   discipline, method, technique, art

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science British  

/ ˈsaɪəns /

noun

1. the systematic study of the nature and behaviour of the material and physical universe, based on observation, experiment, and measurement, and the formulation of laws to describe these facts in general terms

2. the knowledge so obtained or the practice of obtaining it

3. any particular branch of this knowledge

   the pure and applied sciences

4. any body of knowledge organized in a systematic manner

5. skill or technique

6. archaic knowledge

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science Scientific  

/ sī′əns /

1. The investigation of natural phenomena through observation, theoretical explanation, and experimentation, or the knowledge produced by such investigation.

2. ◆ Science makes use of the scientific method, which includes the careful observation of natural phenomena, the formulation of a hypothesis, the conducting of one or more experiments to test the hypothesis, and the drawing of a conclusion that confirms or modifies the hypothesis.

3. See Note at hypothesis

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Usage

Spelling tips for science The word science is hard to spell for two reasons. It uses two letters to make an [ s ] sound, sc-. It is also an exception to the classic rule: I before E, except after C. In this case, the rule does not apply. How to spell science: First, remember that you learn science in school, another hard word to spell that also starts with sc. Second, remember that science doesn't follow the classic “I before E except after C” rule because the i is pronounced separately from the e that follows it (resulting in a two-syllable word), instead of being pronounced together as a single vowel sound.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonscience
  noun
• subscience
  noun
• antiscience
  adjective
• interscience
  adjective
• proscience
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• sciences
  plural

Etymology

Origin of science

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin scientia “knowledge,” equivalent to scient- (stem of sciēns “knowing,” present participle of scīre “to know”) + -ia -ia

Explanation

Science is the field of study concerned with discovering and describing the world around us by observing and experimenting. Biology, chemistry, and physics are all branches of science. Science is an "empirical" field, that is, it develops a body of knowledge by observing things and performing experiments. The meticulous process of gathering and analyzing data is called the "scientific method," and we sometimes use science to describe the knowledge we already have. Science is also what's involved in the performance of something complicated: "the science of making a perfect soufflé."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

science sciences

Visitors will be able to explore more than 100 artifacts and 100 hands-on exhibits focused on science, technology and engineering.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026

A new team of UK specialists is embarking on a 9,000-mile journey to Antarctica to protect a British science base threatened by climate change.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

The 1925 “monkey trial” of John Scopes, in which the Tennessee teacher was prosecuted for teaching Darwinism, has been aptly described as a faceoff between fundamentalist religion and evolutionary science.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

That spacecraft became the first successful planetary science mission, marking a major milestone in the exploration of other worlds.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026

Sometimes Mom would take us to the pool, and sometimes Dr. P would set up science experiments or let us work in her garden.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

OpenAI responded: “It is important to continue to evaluate our internal frontier models on mathematics and other sciences, so we can accelerate developing the tools to advance those fields.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

This may work in Cambridge, a global leader in life sciences, but it is not an option in much of the country.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

"A new generation of deep-science startups is translating breakthroughs into products and transforming fields such as life sciences, space, robotics and clean energy."

From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026

Resolving the drivers and context of the major evolutionary leap represented by early eukaryotes is one of the major outstanding questions in the life sciences.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 27, 2026

A more thorough description of this idea, and its impact on natural sciences and philosophy, might be found in Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood by James Gleick.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Related Words

• art
• discipline
• education
• information
• learning
• skill
• system
• technique