specimen
noun
a part or an individual taken as exemplifying a whole mass or number; a typical animal, plant, mineral, part, etc.
specimens
-
pluralof specimen.plural
The grammatical form denoting more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
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.
When the fossils were originally found, scientists had far fewer mosasaur specimens available for comparison, making it difficult to determine exactly what kind of mosasaur the bones represented.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 15, 2026
The findings demonstrate how valuable it can be to revisit unprepared specimens stored in museums and research collections.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 15, 2026
He then compared the collection with the 80 specimens at the Herpetology Collection at the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum and the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at the University of Berkeley.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
Some specimens appear to be about 567 million years old.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 6, 2026
Instead, spurred by her irrepressible enthusiasm, she invited friends and colleagues to view her precious Surinam sketches and specimens, which she had “dried and well displayed in boxes where they can be seen by all.”
From "The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science" by Joyce Sidman
