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Environment & Climate vocabulary · Biodiversity and Conservation

Extinction

Meaning in environment & climate, with examples

/ɪkˈstɪŋkʃən/nounCore term

In environment & climate, extinction means: The complete disappearance of a species, when its last individual dies. A species can also be extinct in the wild but still survive in zoos or botanical gardens.

In Turkish: neslin tükenmesi, yok oluş

How it is used

Common phrases: face extinction, be at risk of extinction, be driven to extinction, save from extinction, extinction rate. The adjective is extinct: an extinct species. Scientists warn that current extinction rates are far higher than the natural background rate.

Example sentences

  1. Without urgent action, the frog could face extinction within a decade.

  2. A captive breeding program saved the bird from extinction.

Common collocations

  • face extinction
  • risk of extinction
  • driven to extinction
  • mass extinction
  • extinction rate
  • endangered speciesA type of plant or animal that is at high risk of disappearing from the wild, usually because of habitat loss, hunting, pollution or climate change.
  • biodiversityThe variety of all living things in a place, including the different species of plants, animals and microorganisms, the genes within them and the ecosystems they form.
  • habitatThe natural home of a plant or animal species: the place that gives it the food, water, shelter and conditions it needs to survive and reproduce.
  • invasive speciesA plant, animal or other organism that people have moved to a new area, where it spreads quickly and harms native species, ecosystems or the economy.

More terms: Biodiversity and Conservation

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