scientific name

American

[sahy-uhn-tif-ik naym] / ˈsaɪ ənˌtɪf ɪk ˈneɪm /

noun

plural

scientific names

the name used by scientists for a particular organism, consisting of the genus name followed by the species name, conventionally in italics and with the genus name spelled with a capital letter, the species name with a lower-case letter; taxonomic name, binomial nomenclature.

scientific name Scientific

/ sī′ən-tĭf′ĭk /

A name used by scientists, especially the taxonomic name of an organism that consists of the genus and species. Scientific names usually come from Latin or Greek. An example is Homo sapiens, the scientific name for humans.

Other Word Forms

scientific naming noun

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.

Viewers were invited to submit a proposed scientific name along with a justification.

From Science Daily • Feb. 7, 2026

She has given the new fish a scientific name with a personal twist: Harriota avia.

From BBC • Sep. 24, 2024

When researchers discovered a gecko that reminded them of the paintings of van Gogh, they gave it the scientific name Cnemaspis vangoghi.

From Salon • Sep. 20, 2024

The proposed scientific name for the resident northern population is Patagona chaski.

From Science Daily • May 13, 2024

The scientific name for the giant panda is Ailuropoda melanoleuca.

From "Camp Panda" by Catherine Thimmesh

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023