selection

American  

[si-lek-shuhn] / sɪˈlɛk ʃən /

noun

• selections
  plural

1. an act or instance of selecting or the state of being selected; choice.

   Antonyms:

   rejection

2. a thing or a number of things selected.

   Synonyms:

   pick, gathering, collection

3. an aggregate of things displayed for choice, purchase, use, etc.; a group from which a choice may be made.

   The store had a wide selection of bracelets.

4. Biology. any natural or artificial process that results in differential reproduction among the members of a population so that the inheritable traits of only certain individuals are passed on, or are passed on in greater proportion, to succeeding generations.

5. Linguistics.

   1. the choice of one form instead of another in a position where either can occur, as of ask instead of tell or with in the phrase ask me.

   2. the choice of one semantic or syntactic class of words in a construction, to the exclusion of others that do not occur there, as the choice of an animate object for the verb surprise.

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selection British  

/ sɪˈlɛkʃən /

noun

1. the act or an instance of selecting or the state of being selected

2. a thing or number of things that have been selected

3. a range from which something may be selected

   this shop has a good selection of clothes

4. biology the natural or artificial process by which certain organisms or characters are reproduced and perpetuated in the species in preference to others See also natural selection

5. a contestant in a race chosen as likely to win or come second or third

6. 1. the act of free-selecting

   2. a tract of land acquired by free-selection

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonselection
  noun
• reselection
  noun
• superselection
  noun
• selectional
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• selections
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of selection

First recorded in 1640–50; from Latin sēlēctiōn-, stem of sēlēctiō; equivalent to select + -ion

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Explanation

Selection is all about choosing. Think about a salad bar: you can make a selection from among several choices, with croutons always being a popular selection. Inside selection is the word select, "to choose." Selection means the act of choosing, the thing chosen, or the offerings to be chosen from among. Selection can also mean a passage excerpted (or selected) from a longer text. Church services often involve reading a day's selection from the Bible.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

selection selections

He did, however, preserve a selection of skulls, some of which were transferred to the United Kingdom.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 14, 2026

The approach taken by Buckingham and his colleagues to stock selection makes use of various traditional measures of company valuations to sales, earnings, cash flow and other items.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 13, 2026

The tomb is patrolled at all times by soldiers who volunteer for the job and undergo "a strict selection process and intensive training," according to cemetery's website.

From Barron's ● Nov. 12, 2026

Oliva admits that getting final selection for the Los Angeles Games will be a 'tall order'.

From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2026

To the funeral home he went first and looked carefully at the selection of caskets.

From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers

Chelsea have warned staff to be careful about inadvertently revealing team news through Fantasy Premier League after Joao Pedro's injury appeared to have been disclosed through team selections.

From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2026

Accompanied by a harshly amplified recording of selections by Philip Glass and Thomas Montgomery Newman, the comings and goings of this arid creation looked like a lackluster fashion shoot.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026

If you’ve already printed a ballot that doesn’t reflect your intended selections, don’t cast it; notify a poll worker who will follow procedures for replacing the ballot.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

Their selections tend toward unusual and refined works from less recognized collections.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026

We were used to Grandma reading the Bible to us, but the selections were not usually quite so purple.

From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson

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Related Words

• choice
• collection
• draft
• election
• excerpt
• option
• pick

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