specimen

noun

spec·​i·​men ˈspes-mən 

ˈspe-sə-

1

a

: an individual, item, or part considered typical of a group, class, or whole

b

: a portion or quantity of material for use in testing, examination, or study

a urine specimen

2

a

: something that obviously belongs to a particular category but is noticed by reason of an individual distinguishing characteristic

b

: person, individual

he's a tough specimen

3

: a plant grown for exhibition or in the open to display its full development

specimen trees

Synonyms

• baby
• being
• bird
• bod [British]
• body
• character
• cookie
• cooky
• creature
• customer
• devil
• duck
• egg
• face
• fish
• guy
• head
• human
• human being
• individual
• life
• man
• mortal
• party
• person
• personage
• scout
• slob
• sort
• soul
• stiff
• thing
• wight

Choose the Right Synonym for specimen

instance, case, illustration, example, sample, specimen mean something that exhibits distinguishing characteristics in its category.

instance applies to any individual person, act, or thing that may be offered to illustrate or explain.

an instance of history repeating itself

case is used to direct attention to a real or assumed occurrence or situation that is to be considered, studied, or dealt with.

a case of mistaken identity

illustration applies to an instance offered as a means of clarifying or illuminating a general statement.

a telling illustration of Murphy's Law

example applies to a typical, representative, or illustrative instance or case.

a typical example of bureaucratic waste

sample implies a part or unit taken at random from a larger whole and so presumed to be typical of its qualities.

show us a sample of your work

specimen applies to any example or sample whether representative or merely existent and available.

one of the finest specimens of the jeweler's art

Examples of specimen in a Sentence

The church is a magnificent specimen of baroque architecture.

Her dance partner is a superb physical specimen.

Recent Examples on the Web

Grow them as specimen plants, hedges, borders, or screens. —Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 4 Apr. 2024

The specimens are currently in Scripps’ Benthic Invertebrate Collection and the Museo de Zoología at the Universidad de Costa Rica. —Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 6 Mar. 2024

The majority of the specimens researchers found sported eight tentacles, though some had as few as six and one had 11. —Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 27 Feb. 2024

There are no laws that would stop a genomics company from contracting with a Chinese firm to sequence its genetic specimens, for instance. —Drew Harwell, Washington Post, 26 Feb. 2024

Additional specimens were collected to test their genetics and confirm whether certain species are indeed new to science. —Priya Shukla, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2024

His father, the renowned conceptual artist On Kawara, had introduced him to butterfly collecting early, and Akito had already amassed about 500 of his own specimens. —Richard Grant, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Feb. 2024

The package, which was addressed to the museum curator with no return address, contained a letter from someone claiming to be a retired physician who said the two specimens were a donation to the museum. —Katherine Itoh, NBC News, 7 Feb. 2024

View the park’s collection of specimens at the nature center and learn about the clues skulls can give scientists. —Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 21 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin, from specere to look at, look — more at spy

First Known Use

1610, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing specimen

• type specimen

Kids Definition

specimen

noun

spec·​i·​men ˈspes-(ə-)mən 

1

: a part or a single thing that shows what the whole thing or group is like : sample

2

: a portion of material for use in testing or examination

a blood specimen

3

: person sense 1, individual

he's a tough specimen

Medical Definition

specimen

noun

spec·​i·​men ˈspes-(ə-)mən 

1

: an individual, item, or part typical of a group, class, or whole

2

: a portion or quantity of material for use in testing, examination, or study

a urine specimen