natural selection

noun

: a natural process that results in the survival and reproductive success of individuals or groups best adjusted to their environment and that leads to the perpetuation of genetic qualities best suited to that particular environment

Examples of natural selection in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Yet somewhere in that swirl of digital natural selection, algorithms can emerge to advance their goal in ways that may closely resemble human feelings. — New Atlas, 28 Sep. 2026

Our numbers suggest this cost is high enough for natural selection to push bacteria to lose these genes. — Canan Karakoç, The Conversation, 28 Sep. 2026

Any insertions that have large, immediate, and potentially negative effects on an organism are usually rapidly weeded out by natural selection. — Jake Buehler, Quanta Magazine, 21 Sep. 2026

The result would turn up more than 20 years later as On the Origin of Species, Darwin’s seminal work explaining the theory of evolution through natural selection. — Michele Metych Britannica Editors Sep. 14, Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1842, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for natural selection

• abjection
• advection
• affection
• bijection
• bisection
• collection
• complexion
• confection
• connection
• connexion
• convection
• correction

Kids Definition

natural selection

noun

: a natural process in which individuals or groups best adapted to the conditions under which they live survive and produce young and poorly adapted forms are eliminated

Medical Definition

natural selection

noun

: a natural process that results in the survival and reproductive success of individuals or groups best adjusted to their environment and that leads to the perpetuation of genetic qualities best suited to that particular environment