natural history

noun

Updated on: 5 Apr 2018

Definition of natural history

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

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Examples of natural history in a Sentence

the natural history of bees
We went to the Natural History Museum.

Recent Examples of natural history from the Web

Following her success with Planet Earth, Root had been mulling a project that would encompass natural history and Earth science, while taking the viewer to the most extreme locations on the planet.

— p.k. french, WIRED, "How One Strange Rock Made Our World A Bit More Otherworldly," 26 Mar. 2018
Identified as Caulophryne jordani, there are 14 female specimens of this fish preserved in natural history collections worldwide, but a live male has never been seen.

— National Geographic, "Deep-Sea Anglerfish Caught Mating in First-of-Its-Kind Video," 23 Mar. 2018
His circle of friends included rock stars of the natural history world like Aldo Leopold and Roger Tory Peterson.

— mary ellen hannibal, San Francisco Chronicle, "‘The Wizard and the Prophet,’ by Charles C. Mann," 12 Jan. 2018
An opportunity to help those in need, learn valuable skills from experts, and have a cultural and natural history adventure sounds too good to be true.

— robert griffith, dds, Philly.com, "Personal Journey: Receiving humbling gratitude from those in need," 2 Mar. 2018
Learn more about coyotes — their habitat, behavior, diet and their natural history in Wisconsin — at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 22, at the New Berlin Public Library, 15105 W. Library Lane, New Berlin.

— bob dohr, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Muskego High School to present musical 'West Side Story'," 19 Feb. 2018
North Farms was purchased during 1976 and has been showing off its own human and natural history ever since.

— peter marteka, courant.com, "North Farms A Bicentennial Preserve," 25 Feb. 2018
Schultz, who is considered well-trained and versed in the intricacies of Florida natural history and ecology, thought that, overall, the entire program went well, especially for the group of students that went to the beach to clean up.

— sergio carmona, Jewish Journal, "Hebrew Academy students learn to help the environment," 23 Feb. 2018
Though some natural history museums have embraced renovation of their dioramas, notably the American Museum of Natural History in New York, others have turned away from the genre.

— stephan salisbury, Philly.com, "Academy of Natural Sciences renovates its dioramas for the first time since the 1930s," 19 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'natural history.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of natural history

1534

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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NATURAL HISTORY Defined for English Language Learners

natural history

noun

Definition of natural history for English Language Learners

: the study of plants, animals, and sometimes ancient human civilizations

Medical Dictionary

natural history

noun

medical Definition of natural history

: 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

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See words that rhyme with natural history Spanish Central: Translation of natural history Nglish: Translation of natural history for Spanish speakers

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Definition of natural history

Examples of natural history in a Sentence

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NATURAL HISTORY Defined for English Language Learners

natural history

Definition of natural history for English Language Learners

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natural history

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