EXTINCTION • DICCIONARIO INGLES.COM • Definition of Extinction

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/ɪkstˈɪŋkʃən/ /ɪkstˈɪŋʃən/ Listen

noun

Extinction n.

1.

The act of extinguishing or making extinct; a putting an end to; the act of putting out or destroying light, fire, life, activity, influence, etc.

2.

State of being extinguished or of ceasing to be; destruction; suppression; as, the extinction of life, of a family, of a quarrel, of claim.

3.

Specifically: The ceasing to exist of a species of living organism, such as a plant or animal, whose numbers declined to the point where the last member of the species died and therefore no new members of the species could ever again be born. Note: Extinctions have occurred many times throughout the history of life on Earth, and abundant evidence of the prior existence of animals and plants are found as fossils in rock formations many millions of years old. It is believed by some that due to the influence of man on the environment and destruction of habitat, the rate of extinction of species is now higher than at any previous time on this planet. Extinctions of some animals in recent years have actually been reliably recorded, such as that of the dodo bird. A remarkable example of extinction is that of the passenger pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) in North America, which once numbered in the billions, and the last living member of which species was recorded as dying in captivity in 1914.

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Etymology of 'Extinction'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Extinction" Quotes from Famous Books

... your noble and true sympathy through the dark hour of our national trial. You and yours are almost the only friends we now have left in England. You cannot know what it was, unless you could imagine your own country to be in danger of death, extinction of nationality. That, dear friend, is an experience which shows us what we are and what we can feel. I am glad to hear that we may hope to see your son in this country. I fear so many pleasant calls will ...

— The Life of Harriet Beecher Stowe • Charles Edward Stowe

... thinks,' proceeded Eames, 'the pleasures of life, trivial and soon tasteless, are bribes to bring us into a torture chamber. We all see that for any thinking man mere extinction is the... What are you doing?... Are you mad?... Put that ...

— Manalive • G. K. Chesterton

... independent, and become dangerous. Nor were these views confined to Englishmen. There were foreign observers who clearly saw that the adhesion of her colonies to Great Britain would be jeopardized by the extinction of French power in America. Choiseul warned Stanley that they "would not fail to shake off their dependence the moment Canada should be ceded;" while thirteen years before, the Swedish traveller Kalm declared that the presence of the French in America gave the best assurance to Great Britain ...

— Montcalm and Wolfe • Francis Parkman

... that Andrew had no cause for protest; but beneath the remark ran a streak of significance. She resented the serious tone at which Andrew had led the conversation. He and his military studies and his war of the future! They bored her to extinction. She glanced at him obliquely. A young man of thirty, he behaved himself like the senior of this youthful, flashing, elderly man who had the gift of laughter and could pluck out for her all that she had ...

— The Mountebank • William J. Locke

... at Halet, and returned his gaze to Telzey. Looking very uncomfortable but quite determined, he told her, "Miss Amberdon, there is a Federation law which states that when a species is threatened with extinction, any available survivors must be transferred to the Life Banks of the University League, to insure their indefinite preservation. Under the circumstances, this law ...

— Novice • James H. Schmitz

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