Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for sexual dimorphism.

sexual dimorphism

American  

noun

  1. the condition in which the males and females in a species are morphologically different, as with many birds.


sexual dimorphism British  

noun

  1. biology differences in appearance between the males and females of a species

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of sexual dimorphism

First recorded in 1885–90

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.

The main groups in which the phenomenon has been recorded include animal species which feature strong sexual dimorphism; most often insects, especially butterflies, crustaceans, spiders, even lizards and rodents.

From Science Daily • Dec. 11, 2023

Many stick insects display extreme sexual dimorphism, with females unrecognizable from their male companions.

From New York Times • Dec. 1, 2020

It turns out that sexual dimorphism correlates extremely well with increased extinction rate, with more than 99 percent of models correlating the two.

From Salon • Jun. 8, 2018

The study showed that extinction rates in ostracods with the most pronounced sexual dimorphism of this type were 10 times higher than those with the least pronounced dimorphism.

From Salon • Jun. 8, 2018

No sexual dimorphism or geographical variation occurs in these characters.

From Natural History of Cottonmouth Moccasin, Agkistrodon piscovorus (Reptilia) by Burkett, Ray D.

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Look it up. Learn it forever.

Remember "sexual dimorphism" for good with VocabTrainer. Expand your vocabulary effortlessly with personalized learning tools that adapt to your goals.

Take me to Vocabulary.com