science
Pluralsciences (some meanings)
Pluralsciences (some meanings)
Formssciences, sciencing, scienced
- 1Studying how the world works by watching and testing things carefully, and what we learn from it.
Like building a big box of facts by testing each one to see if it is true.
Science helps us understand why the sky is blue.
She loves science because it explains how things work.
UsageSay science tells us, with no a, for the whole subject.
Note
- 2A field of study based on facts and clear rules, not on guessing or skill.
Like a subject with strict rules, where you must prove things instead of guessing.
Chemistry is a science, but cooking is more of an art.
Some people call economics a science, but others say it is closer to an art.
UsageSay economics is a science, or study the sciences.
Similardiscipline, field, branch
Note
- 3The study of nature, like physics, chemistry, and biology.
Like the school subjects where you learn about plants, stars, and chemicals.
He wants to study science at college, maybe physics.
Science classes at her school include biology and chemistry.
UsageSay she is good at science.
Oppositearts, humanities
- 4The group of people who do scientific work, thought of as one body.
Science was slow to accept her new idea at first.
Many hoped science would agree on a single explanation.
UsageSay science says, with no the.
Similarscientists, researchers
Note
Less common meanings
- 5Something you do best when you follow careful steps that you have learned well.
There's a science to packing a suitcase so that everything fits.
My grandma has turned making pie crust into a science.
UsageSay you have it down to a science when you do it perfectly.
- 6
- 7Boxing, thought of as a sport that needs skill and clever timing.
Like a chess game with fists, where thinking matters as much as strength.
He devoted his life to the science and won several boxing titles.
Good footwork is the heart of the science, the old boxer said.
UsageMake sure the words around it clearly show that you mean boxing.
Note
- 8An old use meaning knowledge, or skill learned by study or practice.
Shakespeare's deep and accurate science in mental philosophy
1819, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Notes on HamletHere, science means knowledge or understanding.Note
- 9
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origin
It comes from a Latin word "scientia," meaning "knowledge," from "scire," "to know." English got it through Old French.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
- Science derives from Latin scientia, meaning knowledge. en.wiktionary.org
- Scientia derives from scire, meaning to know. en.wiktionary.org
- English borrowed the word through Old French. en.wiktionary.org