hominin

American  

[hom-uh-nin] / ˈhɒm ə nɪn /

noun

Anthropology, Zoology.

1. any member of the group consisting of all modern and extinct humans and their immediate ancestors, specifically members of the tribe Hominini.

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Etymology

Origin of hominin

First recorded in 1985–90; from New Latin Hominīnī, equivalent to Latin homin- (stem of homō ) “human being, man” + -īnī (plural of the adjective suffix -īnus indicating origin or affiliation); Homo ( def. ), -ine ¹ ( def. ) )

Compare meaning

How does hominin compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• hominin vs. hominid

Example Sentences

Prior to that, she was a paleoanthropology researcher and received a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship in 2016 for work focused on hominin bipedalism.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 3, 2026

"The technological strategies evident in the stone tools likely played a crucial role in helping hominin populations adapt to the fluctuating environments that characterized the 90,000-year-period in Eastern Asia," Professor Petraglia said.

From Science Daily • Jan. 31, 2026

The fossil record includes more than 15 known hominin species, which generally fall into four broad groups:

From Science Daily • Jan. 23, 2026

A newly published study in Nature describes the discovery of the first known Paranthropus fossil from Ethiopia's Afar region, uncovered about 1000 km north of where this ancient hominin had previously been found.

From Science Daily • Jan. 23, 2026

"This fossil remains one of the most important discoveries in the hominin record and its true identity is key to understanding our evolutionary past," Dr. Martin said.

From Science Daily • Jan. 5, 2026