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Biology vocabulary · Evolution and Classification

Evolution

Meaning in biology, with examples

/ˌevəˈluːʃən/nounCore term

In biology, evolution means: The change in the inherited traits of populations over many generations. It explains how all living species descend from earlier forms of life.

In Turkish: evrim

How it is used

Central to all of biology. The verb is evolve (species evolve, a trait evolves) and the adjective is evolutionary: evolutionary biology, evolutionary history. In science, evolution is a well-supported theory; 'theory' here does not mean a guess.

Example sentences

  1. Darwin's ideas on evolution were published in 1859 in On the Origin of Species.

  2. The evolution of antibiotic resistance in bacteria can be observed within a few years.

Common collocations

  • theory of evolution
  • evolutionary biology
  • human evolution
  • convergent evolution
  • evolve over time
  • natural selectionThe process by which individuals with traits better suited to their environment survive and reproduce more, so those traits become more common over generations.
  • adaptationA feature that helps an organism survive and reproduce in its environment, such as a camel's wide feet; also the evolutionary process that produces such features.
  • speciesA group of similar organisms that can breed with each other and produce fertile offspring. It is the basic unit used to classify living things.
  • common ancestorAn earlier species from which two or more later species have descended. The more recently two species shared a common ancestor, the more closely related they are.
  • fossilThe preserved remains or traces of an organism that lived long ago, such as bones, shells, leaf prints or footprints, usually found in sedimentary rock.

More terms: Evolution and Classification

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