natural history

noun

1
: a treatise on some aspect of nature
2
: the natural development of something (such as an organism or disease) over a period of time
3
: the study of natural objects especially in the field from an amateur or popular point of view

Examples of natural history in a Sentence

the natural history of bees We went to the Natural History Museum.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Conversations were taking place about developing a big natural history event at the company — the kind that could then live on a streamer (which at that point hadn’t even been announced yet as Peacock). — Michael Schneider, Variety, 21 Mar. 2025 Sunday is this year’s SoCal Museums Free-for-All, an annual tradition in which more than 30 museums and cultural institutions across the region offer free admission for the day to their art, film, natural history and other cultural offerings. — Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2025 Murphy’s oeuvre has revolutionized the study of natural history’s entanglements with slavery. — The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 13 Mar. 2025 The discovery was announced Monday in a statement from the natural history museum in the Danish town of Faxe, called Geomuseum Faxe. — Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for natural history

Word History

First Known Use

1534, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of natural history was in 1534

Rhymes for natural history

See All Rhymes for natural history

Browse Nearby Words

natural historian
natural history
natural horn
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Cite this Entry

“Natural history.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/natural%20history. Accessed 27 Mar. 2025.

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Kids Definition

natural history

noun
: the study of natural objects and especially plants and animals as they live in nature from an amateur or popular point of view

Medical Definition

natural history

noun
: the natural development of something (as an organism or disease) over a period of time
increasing knowledge of the natural histories of tumors— H. S. N. Greene

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