science fiction

noun

: fiction dealing principally with the impact of actual or imagined science on society or individuals or having a scientific factor as an essential orienting component

science-fictional

ˈsī-ən(t)s-ˈfik-sh(ə-)nəl 

adjective

Examples of science fiction in a Sentence

Time travel exists only in the realm of science fiction.

Recent Examples on the Web

Greg Ketter has spent nearly five decades selling comic books and science fiction novels at DreamHaven Books and Comics in Minneapolis. —Nick Lunemann, CBS News, 27 Jan. 2026

General purpose humanoid robots with human-like intelligence are sexy and newsworthy, but still far away and in the realm of science fiction. —Sabbir Rangwala, Forbes.com, 23 Jan. 2026

Well suited for science fiction, fantasy, epic adventure and nature documentaries. —Anna Marie De La Fuente, Variety, 19 Jan. 2026

Born in 1917 — in a house that her grandfather built in San Jose’s Naglee Park neighborhood — Betty Ann Chandler’s life spanned San Jose’s evolution from a small, agricultural city to the biggest city in the Bay Area and home to tech companies that would have been science fiction in her youth. —Sal Pizarro, Mercury News, 17 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1898, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for science fiction

• antifriction
• benediction
• contradiction
• crucifixion
• dereliction
• interdiction
• jurisdiction
• malediction
• addiction
• affliction
• constriction
• conviction

Kids Definition

science fiction

noun

: fiction that deals with the influence of real or imagined science on society or individuals

science-fictional

ˈsī-ən(t)s-ˈfik-shnəl, 

-shən-ᵊl

adjective