natural selection
Say it: NACH-uh-rul suh-LEK-shun /ˌnatʃ(ə)r(ə)l sɪˈlɛkʃ(ə)n/ · noun
What “natural selection” means
Better-adapted living things tend to survive and have more offspring.
More precisely: The process by which organisms better adapted to their environment survive and reproduce more.
When to use it
In biology, for how inherited features become more common when they help organisms survive and reproduce in their environment.
Similar words
survival of the fittest, evolution, adaptation
Where it comes from
Term popularised by Charles Darwin in On the Origin of Species (1859).
Quick check
Well-camouflaged beetles escape birds and leave more offspring, so their inherited colour becomes common over generations. What process is this?
selective breeding or natural selection?
Show the answer
natural selection
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