natural selection en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
Etymology
Coined by British biologist Charles Darwin in 1859 in his work On the Origin of Species.
Meanings
-
(qualifier:evolutionary theory, uncountable) A process by which heritable traits conferring survival and reproductive advantage to individuals, or related individuals, tend to be passed on to succeeding generations and become more frequent in a population, whereas other less favourable traits tend to become eliminated; the differential survival and reproduction of phenotypes.
Yes, there were hundreds of companies in existence, but a form of natural selection was taking place. Weaker companies were swallowed up by larger ones.
2024 July 24, Richard Foster, “Rail reform has never been easy”, in RAIL, number 1014, page 28:I believe that a careful consideration of the structure of a species, and of the peculiar physical and organic conditions by which it is surrounded, or has been surrounded in past ages, will often, as in this case, throw much light on the origin of its habits and instincts. These again, combined with changes in external conditions, react upon structure, and by means of "variation" and "natural selection", both are kept in harmony.
1869, Alfred Russel Wallace, The Malay Archipelago, volume I, London: Macmillan and Co., page 419:
-
(colloquial, offensive, sometimes, uncountable) A process by which poor individual choices or attributes naturally, or rightfully, lead to poor outcomes, especially death.
“He should of looked left or right or at least used the crossing up the road, I have no sympathy it’s natural selection at it’s finest. Let’s hope the parents clear off back to their own country now”
2023 May 27, Jess Knopp, Katie Parker, “Is this the angriest town in Britain?”, in East Anglia Bylines:Lead singer “Hooch” tries hard to be offensive, telling the crowd he'd like to set some hippies and homeless people on fire, promoting drunk driving as “natural selection at work,’
2006 September 21, Jessica Smith, “Rockabilly’s ‘greatest bill ever’ goes from great to worse”, in The Martlet, volume 59, number 7, page 15:
Hypernyms
Relateds
sexual selection · artificial selection · law of the jungle · supernatural selection · Darwin Award
Synonyms
Translations (64)
ja 自然選択 (natural selection) · az təbii seçmə (natural selection) · vi chọn lọc tự nhiên (natural selection) · sv naturligt urval (natural selection) · ms pemilihan semula jadi (natural selection) · nn naturleg seleksjon (natural selection) · mn байгалийн шалгарал (natural selection) · lv dabiskā izlase (natural selection) · uz tabiiy tanlanish (natural selection) · gl selección natural (natural selection) · hy բնական ընտրություն (natural selection) · tl piliang likas (natural selection) · ka ბუნებრივი გადარჩევა (natural selection) · ro selecție naturală (natural selection) · tr natürel seleksiyon (natural selection) · ru есте́ственный отбо́р (natural selection) · fr sélection naturelle (natural selection) · ms pemilihan alamiah (natural selection) · uk приро́дний відбі́р (natural selection) · cy detholiad naturiol (natural selection) · yue 自然選擇 /自然选择 (natural selection) · yue 天擇 /天择 (natural selection) · cs přírodní výběr (natural selection) · nan-hbl 自然選擇 /自然选择 (natural selection) · it selezione naturale (natural selection) · sh природна селекција (natural selection) · nan-hbl 天擇 /天择 (natural selection) · da naturlig selektion (natural selection) · sk prirodzený výber (natural selection) · ko 자연선택 (natural selection) · nn naturleg utval (natural selection) · pt seleção natural (natural selection) · tr doğal seçilim (natural selection) · cmn 自然選擇 /自然选择 (natural selection) · es selección natural (natural selection) · pl selekcja naturalna (natural selection) · no naturlig seleksjon (natural selection) · ar اِنْتِقَاءٌ طَبِيعِيّ (natural selection) · uk приро́дний добі́р (natural selection) · gsw natürlichi Selektion (natural selection) · hu természetes kiválasztódás (natural selection) · is náttúruval (natural selection) · eo natura selektado (natural selection) · ja 自然淘汰 (natural selection) · he ברירה טבעית (natural selection) · de natürliche Zuchtwahl (natural selection) · lt natūrali̇̀ atrankà (natural selection) · yi נאַטירלעכע סעלעקציע (natural selection) · ko 자연도태 (natural selection) · el φυσική επιλογή (natural selection) · hi प्राकृतिक वरण (natural selection) · id seleksi alami (natural selection) · fi luonnonvalinta (natural selection) · kk қозғаушы сұрыпталу (natural selection) · mi whiringa māori (natural selection) · th การคัดเลือกโดยธรรมชาติ (natural selection) · pl dobór naturalny (natural selection) · de natürliche Auslese (natural selection) · de natürliche Selektion (natural selection) · nl natuurlijke selectie (natural selection) · ca selecció natural (natural selection) · cmn 天擇 /天择 (natural selection) · sh prirodna selekcija (natural selection) · no naturlig utvalg (natural selection)