survival of the fittest

American  

noun

1. (not in technical use) natural selection.

2. a 19th-century concept of human society, inspired by the principle of natural selection, postulating that those who are eliminated in the struggle for existence are the unfit.

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survival of the fittest British  

noun

1. a popular term for natural selection

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survival of the fittest Idioms  

1. Those best adapted to particular conditions will succeed in the long run, as in They've had to close a dozen of their stores, but the ones in the western part of the state are doing well—it's the survival of the fittest. This phrase was invented by Herbert Spencer in Principles of Biology (1864) to describe Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection of living species. By the early 1900s it was being transferred to other areas.

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Etymology

Origin of survival of the fittest

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

survival of the fittest

The movie projects contempt for the dense from its first frame, sharing a montage of recent pop culture as a stentorian narrator worries that modern conveniences have perverted the concept of survival of the fittest.

From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026

In the meantime, it will be survival of the fittest drivers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 18, 2026

New CEO Greg Abel might favor survival of the fittest.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 22, 2026

"This will be a season of survival of the fittest but I can only put 20 players in the squad," said Ten Hag.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2024

But I told myself that in nature it’s survival of the fittest.

From "Crenshaw" by Katherine Applegate