Synonyms for
Specimen
Definition
an individual animal, plant, piece of a mineral, etc. used as an example of its species or type for scientific study or display
Synonyms & similar words
Synonyms by register
Antonyms
Common collocations
- biological specimen
- collect a specimen
- human specimen
- animal specimen
- rare specimen
- type specimen
- control specimen
Word family
Usage note
A specimen is typically a single example of something, often used in scientific or medical contexts. It can sometimes imply a less-than-ideal or unusual example.
Example sentences
- The museum has a specimen of a dinosaur skeleton.
- The doctor will need a specimen of your blood for testing.
- The botanist collected a specimen of a rare flower.
- The teacher showed the class a specimen of a crystal.
- The zookeeper took a specimen of the elephant's dung for analysis.
Quotes
A specimen of a different variety of humanity from any I had seen before. - Robert Louis Stevenson
The world is a specimen of a universe in which there is much to admire and much to despise. - Samuel Johnson
The great thing about human language is that it prevents us from sticking to the matter at hand. It is also what makes us uniquely human. Animals communicate. But they don't have a pipe organ or a symphony orchestra, let alone jazz or rock and roll. Verbal language lets us share ideas and get a grip on our world. It's a priceless specimen from an evolutionary point of view. - Diane Ackerman