science

American  

[sahy-uhns] / ˈsaɪ əns /

noun

• sciences
  plural

1. a branch of knowledge or study dealing with a body of facts or truths systematically arranged and showing the operation of general laws.

   the mathematical sciences.

2. systematic knowledge of the physical or material world gained through observation and experimentation.

3. any of the branches of natural or physical science.

4. systematized knowledge in general.

5. knowledge, as of facts or principles; knowledge gained by systematic study.

6. a particular branch of knowledge.

7. skill, especially reflecting a precise application of facts or principles; proficiency.

   Synonyms:

   discipline, method, technique, art

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science British  

/ ˈsaɪəns /

noun

1. the systematic study of the nature and behaviour of the material and physical universe, based on observation, experiment, and measurement, and the formulation of laws to describe these facts in general terms

2. the knowledge so obtained or the practice of obtaining it

3. any particular branch of this knowledge

   the pure and applied sciences

4. any body of knowledge organized in a systematic manner

5. skill or technique

6. archaic knowledge

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science Scientific  

/ sī′əns /

1. The investigation of natural phenomena through observation, theoretical explanation, and experimentation, or the knowledge produced by such investigation.

2. ◆ Science makes use of the scientific method, which includes the careful observation of natural phenomena, the formulation of a hypothesis, the conducting of one or more experiments to test the hypothesis, and the drawing of a conclusion that confirms or modifies the hypothesis.

3. See Note at hypothesis

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Usage

Spelling tips for science The word science is hard to spell for two reasons. It uses two letters to make an [ s ] sound, sc-. It is also an exception to the classic rule: I before E, except after C. In this case, the rule does not apply. How to spell science: First, remember that you learn science in school, another hard word to spell that also starts with sc. Second, remember that science doesn't follow the classic “I before E except after C” rule because the i is pronounced separately from the e that follows it (resulting in a two-syllable word), instead of being pronounced together as a single vowel sound.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonscience
  noun
• subscience
  noun
• antiscience
  adjective
• interscience
  adjective
• proscience
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• sciences
  plural

Etymology

Origin of science

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin scientia “knowledge,” equivalent to scient- (stem of sciēns “knowing,” present participle of scīre “to know”) + -ia -ia

Explanation

Science is the field of study concerned with discovering and describing the world around us by observing and experimenting. Biology, chemistry, and physics are all branches of science. Science is an "empirical" field, that is, it develops a body of knowledge by observing things and performing experiments. The meticulous process of gathering and analyzing data is called the "scientific method," and we sometimes use science to describe the knowledge we already have. Science is also what's involved in the performance of something complicated: "the science of making a perfect soufflé."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

science sciences

Then he paid high school students to write on the papyrus using passages from "Star Wars," the Bible, and a quote from the 1960s science fiction television show "The Outer Limits."

From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026

Last week, he visited a school in Birmingham to launch a education programme inspired by the Games, where he played pickleball with pupils and took part in a science lesson on prosthetic design.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026

Strolling through the more than 50 exhibitors at this year’s edition, it’s sometimes clear why certain bodies of work have gone unremarked upon—as in science, not every artistic experiment yields a breakthrough.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

Some of the most AI-exposed majors included computer science, computer engineering and language majors, researchers said.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026

Others teach English, literacy, math, or science in schools and communities.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

Social work, animal sciences as well as hospitality and administrative management also faced little exposure.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026

Cloudera operates in nearly 100 countries, serving clients across financial services, telecommunications, healthcare and life sciences, oil and gas, and the public sector.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

“I got into Harvard with grants for women and minorities in science,” said Hernandez, who later earned a PhD in biological sciences in public health.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026

With support from Berkeley's life sciences entrepreneurship ecosystem, including Nucleate and Berkeley SkyDeck, the researchers have created a company called ReRx Therapeutics to help move the research toward potential use in patients.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026

Above all, the music of this period was characterised - as were the contemporary sciences - by a powerful marriage of imagination and ambition.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

Related Words

• art
• discipline
• education
• information
• learning
• skill
• system
• technique