specimen

[ spes-uh-muhn ]
See synonyms for: specimenspecimens on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a part or an individual taken as exemplifying a whole mass or number; a typical animal, plant, mineral, part, etc.

  2. (in medicine, microbiology, etc.) a sample of a substance or material for examination or study: a urine specimen; a tissue specimen.

  1. a particular or peculiar kind of person.

Origin of specimen

1
1600–10; <Latin: mark, example, indication, sign, equivalent to speci-, stem of specere to look, regard + -men noun suffix denoting result or means

synonym study For specimen

1. See example.

Other words for specimen

Words Nearby specimen

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use specimen in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for specimen

specimen

/ (ˈspɛsɪmɪn) /


noun
    • an individual, object, or part regarded as typical of the group or class to which it belongs

    • (as modifier): a specimen signature; a specimen page

  1. med a sample of tissue, blood, urine, etc, taken for diagnostic examination or evaluation

  1. the whole or a part of an organism, plant, rock, etc, collected and preserved as an example of its class, species, etc

  2. informal, often derogatory a person

Origin of specimen

1
C17: from Latin: mark, evidence, proof, from specere to look at

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