specimen

Everyday

1. A specimen is one example of a plant, animal, rock or other thing that is collected and studied, for example in a museum or lab. tree →
2. A specimen is a small amount of blood, urine or other body matter that a doctor tests. tree →
3. (informal, joking) A «fine specimen» is a good or funny example of a person or animal. tree →

In the lessons

In science lessons specimens are collected, labelled, measured and looked at under a microscope; museums keep specimens of fossils, insects and birds. In health it is a sample a doctor tests. Phrases: a specimen jar, a rock specimen, collect specimens, a fine specimen.

Examples

• We collected leaf specimens for our science project. tree →
• The museum has a specimen of a giant beetle. tree →
• The nurse asked for a urine specimen. tree →
• Look at the specimen under the microscope. tree →
• That dinosaur bone is a rare specimen. tree →
• Each rock specimen was labelled with its name and where it was found. tree →
• What a fine specimen of a pumpkin! tree →
• I should have liked to preserve a specimen. tree →

Note

Plural: specimens. Stress on the first syllable: SPEH-si-men. «Specimen» and «sample» are close; a sample is usually a small part taken from something bigger. In maths problems: «each box holds 12 specimens» — count them like other objects.