extinction

Everyday

1. When a kind of animal or plant dies out completely, so there are none left anywhere. tree →
2. Something being put out or ended, such as a fire or light. tree →

In the lessons

In science and nature lessons: dinosaurs, the dodo and the woolly mammoth suffered extinction. «Mass extinction» means many kinds dying out at once. «On the brink of extinction» or «facing extinction» means very close to dying out (endangered). Conservation protects species from extinction.

Examples

• The dodo was hunted to extinction. tree →
• Many tigers are facing extinction. tree →
• A huge asteroid may have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. tree →
• Zoos help save animals from extinction. tree →
• Pollution could push the frogs to extinction. tree →
• Extinction is forever — the animals never come back. tree →
• Scientists study fossils to learn about past extinctions. tree →
• I did not anticipate this immediate extinction of the species." tree →

Note

Mostly uncountable; plural «extinctions» for separate events. Adjective: extinct (dead out). Not the same as «endangered» (still alive but at risk). An extinct volcano will not erupt again; a dormant one is only sleeping.