ex·tinct

[ik-stingkt]
adjective
1.
no longer in existence; that has ended or died out: an extinct species of fish.
2.
no longer in use; obsolete: an extinct custom.
3.
extinguished; quenched; not burning.
4.
having ceased eruption; no longer active: an extinct volcano.

Origin:
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin ex(s)tinctus put out, quenched, past participle of ex(s)tinguere to extinguish

non·ex·tinct, adjective
un·ex·tinct, adjective

extinct, rare, scarce.


1. defunct, gone, vanished. See dead. 2. archaic. 3. out.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To extinct
00:10
Extinct is a TOEFL word you need to know.
So is unique. Does it mean:
capable of or adapted for turning easily from one to another of various tasks, fields of endeavor; capable of many uses
not typical; unusual:
Collins
World English Dictionary
extinct (ɪkˈstɪŋkt) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
1.  (of an animal or plant species) having no living representative; having died out
2.  quenched or extinguished
3.  (of a volcano) no longer liable to erupt; inactive
4.  void or obsolete: an extinct political office
 
[C15: from Latin exstinctus quenched, from exstinguere to extinguish]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

extinct
early 15c., from L. extinctus, pp. of extinguere (see extinguish). Originally of fires; the sense of the condition of "dying out" of a family or a hereditary title, 1580s.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Science Dictionary
extinct   (ĭk-stĭngkt')  Pronunciation Key 
  1. Having no living members. Species become extinct for many reasons, including climate change, disease, destruction of habitat, local or worldwide natural disasters, and development into new species (speciation). The great majority of species that have ever lived—probably more than 99 percent—are now extinct.

  2. No longer active or burning, as an extinct volcano.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
Conference interviews are going extinct in my discipline.
Some extinct animals have anatomical oddities that seem destined to be confined
  to the marginalia of history.
The new work marks the first time that so much of the genetic material of an
  extinct creature has been retrieved.
Dragons are an extinct species, victims of war and poor breeding practices.
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT