- an individual, object, or part regarded as typical of the group or class to which it belongs
- (as modifier): a specimen signature, a specimen page
- a sample of tissue, blood, urine, etc, taken for diagnostic examination or evaluation
- the whole or a part of an organism, plant, rock, etc, collected and preserved as an example of its class, species, etc
- informal often derogatory a person
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
spec•i•men /ˈspɛsəmən/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- a part or an individual taken as being an example of a whole mass or number of things;
typical animal, mineral, etc.:The archaeologists dug up several specimens of ancient dinosaurs. - Medicine, Laboratorya sample of a material for study:To do the test we'll need a specimen of your blood.
- a particular kind of person:He's an odd specimen, isn't he?
spec•i•men
(spes′ə mən),USA pronunciation n.
- a part or an individual taken as exemplifying a whole mass or number;
a typical animal, plant, mineral, part, etc. - Medicine, Laboratory(in medicine, microbiology, etc.) a sample of a substance or material for examination or study:a urine specimen; a tissue specimen.
- a particular or peculiar kind of person.
- Latin: mark, example, indication, sign, equivalent. to speci-, stem of specere to look, regard + -men noun, nominal suffix denoting result or means
- 1600–10
- 1. type, model, pattern. See example.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
specimen /ˈspɛsɪmɪn/ n
'specimen page' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):