selection

American  

[si-lek-shuhn] / sɪˈlɛk ʃən /

noun

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

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

Etymology

Origin of selection

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

Example Sentences

The people behind the inclusive park in southern Scotland said they were delighted to find a place alongside such a worldwide selection of locations.

From BBC

James, who didn’t attend the media sessions on Saturday but will talk before the game Sunday, extended his NBA record All-Star selections to 22 in a row.

From Los Angeles Times

You let us know, endorsing many of our selections but insisting we’d missed a few.

From Los Angeles Times

In the selection of his back three, Townsend erred on the side of caution and form.

From BBC

Here is a selection of this week’s extensive coverage of the information-technology sector:

From MarketWatch

Related Words

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