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.

---

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

---

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

Standard fares will include perks such as seat selection, additional checked bags and the ability to make changes, while flexible tickets will be fully refundable and include all standard benefits, United said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

Fifa offers a selection of available facilities but each nation will naturally have their own plans and priorities.

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026

"All of this combined, and the selection of data sets that we collect from different partnerships help us to really understand what's happening" including when ships "go dark", he added.

From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026

"It sends the wrong message and it became a distraction," he said, adding that he had not cared about his sixth place selection and had been happy to support the party.

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026

Indeed, if you coupled the genesis of spontaneous mutants—the giant-leaved Oenothera, say—with natural selection, then Darwin’s relentless engine was automatically set in motion.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Related Words

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