specimen
Americannoun
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a part or an individual taken as exemplifying a whole mass or number; a typical animal, plant, mineral, part, etc.
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(in medicine, microbiology, etc.) a sample of a substance or material for examination or study.
a urine specimen; a tissue specimen.
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a particular or peculiar kind of person.
noun
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an individual, object, or part regarded as typical of the group or class to which it belongs
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( as modifier )
a specimen signature
a specimen page
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med a sample of tissue, blood, urine, etc, taken for diagnostic examination or evaluation
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the whole or a part of an organism, plant, rock, etc, collected and preserved as an example of its class, species, etc
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informal a person
Related Words
See example.
Etymology
Origin of specimen
1600–10; < Latin: mark, example, indication, sign, equivalent to speci-, stem of specere to look, regard + -men noun suffix denoting result or means
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.
These newly recognized specimens, called geraisites after the state of Minas Gerais where they were first found, form a previously unknown strewn field.
From Science Daily
Using radiocarbon dating along with genetic and protein testing, the team confirmed that the Late Bronze Age specimens are the oldest goat remains yet identified in Ireland.
From Science Daily
The specimens were divided between museums in Australia and the U.S.A.
From Science Daily
What makes this specimen extraordinary is not just its skeleton, but its preserved skin.
From Science Daily
Researchers initially compared the specimen to the Terrestrisuchus, another early member of the crocodylomorpha group - also known for its long legs and fully terrestrial lifestyle.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
