natural history

noun

1

: a treatise on some aspect of nature

2

: the natural development of something (such as an organism or disease) over a period of time

3

: the study of natural objects especially in the field from an amateur or popular point of view

Examples of natural history in a Sentence

the natural history of bees

We went to the Natural History Museum.

Recent Examples on the Web

The Bandera Natural History and Art Museum has both natural history and art exhibits. —Jill Robbins, Southern Living, 14 Mar. 2026

The United Kingdom has centuries of natural history tradition and is home to some of the world’s most famous botanical gardens and research institutions. —Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 13 Mar. 2026

Fernbank natural history museum, 767 Clifton Road, Atlanta. —Mary Caldwell, AJC.com, 12 Mar. 2026

Documenting her and her fellow volunteers’ attentions, the book is an ode to the kind of careful, patient natural history that contemporary science practiced at its increasingly rapid pace does not encourage as much anymore. —Literary Hub, 9 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1534, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for natural history

• consistory
• ethnohistory
• mystery

Kids Definition

natural history

noun

: the study of natural objects and especially plants and animals as they live in nature from an amateur or popular point of view

Medical Definition

natural history

noun

: the natural development of something (as an organism or disease) over a period of time

increasing knowledge of the natural histories of tumors

—H. S. N. Greene