species
noun
Simple meaning
A group of animals or plants that can have babies together
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
speesheezSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈspiʃiz
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
biology
A group of sexually reproducing organisms of which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction, usually having similar appearance.
A type or kind.
biologytaxonomy
A category in the classification of organisms, ranking below genus; a taxon at that rank.
Coin, or coined silver, gold, or other metal, used as a circulating medium; specie.
The image of something cast on a surface, or reflected from a surface, or refracted through a lens or telescope; a reflection.
Visible or perceptible presentation; appearance; something perceived.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner (estimated)
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Varies by meaning
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A group of sexually reproducing organisms of which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction, usually having similar appearance.
Used this way, species is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a scientific use: it names something precisely within a field of study, so it appears in research and teaching more than in conversation.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Science
- Academic writing
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use species
- “Scientists discovered a new species of butterfly in the rainforest.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
A special offering (usually temporary and at a reduced price) that is featured in advertising.
The evolution of a biological species.
In a special manner.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
The species that best exemplifies the essential characteristics of the genus to which it belongs.
A species whose numbers are so small that the species is at risk of extinction.
A species of fish.
A species of bacteria.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.