species

1 one of the units into which a whole is divided on the basis of a common characteristic <a music that is now generally regarded as a distinct species of rap> Synonyms bracket, category, classification, division, family, genus, grade, group, kind, league, order, rank(s), rubric, set, class, tier, typeRelated Words description, feather, ilk, kidney, like, manner, nature, sort; branch, section, speciality, specialty, subclass, subdivision, subgroup, subspecies, variety; breed, race; generation; heading, label, title

2 a number of persons or things that are grouped together because they have something in common <in the late 1960s there emerged a new species of actor: edgy and not conventionally handsome> Synonyms breed, class, description, feather, genre, ilk, kidney, kind, like, manner, nature, order, sort, strain, stripe, type, varietyRelated Words model; sample, specimen; bracket, bunch, category, division, family, grade, group, grouping, lot, persuasion, rank(s), set, suite

3 human beings in general <the future of the species may well depend on our willingness to limit the impact of an ever-increasing population> Synonyms folks, humanity, humankind, public, people, worldRelated Words community, society; crowd, masses, mob, populace, proletariat, rabble, rabblement, riffraff