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Who wrote, "Science is much more than a body of knowledge. It is a way of thinking"?

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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

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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

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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

Even as Trump still plays the dominant role in US foreign policy, the size of Democrats' victory means they control the agenda in Congress, said political science professor Brian Taylor of Syracuse University.

From Barron's ● Nov. 5, 2026

The researchers believe their method could bring scientists closer to a long-sought goal in materials science: choosing the properties of individual nanoparticles independently of the larger structures into which they assemble.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 4, 2026

“It’s groundbreaking,” Anna Sampaio, a professor of ethnic studies and political science at Santa Clara University, said of Becerra’s win.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026

Temporary visa holders make up roughly 58% of post-doctoral appointments in science, engineering and health.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026

But as the world grew wiser and science began to investigate, my younger sister and myself began to adapt our experiments to our audiences.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

McConnell has more than 25 years of finance leadership experience across healthcare and life sciences, especially in the U.S., according to the global medical products and technologies company.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026

She also earned a bachelor of science in health sciences from Cal State Dominguez Hills in 1990.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026

"Caleb resurrected a statistical technique from a bygone era," said co-author Jacques Gauthier, a professor of Earth and planetary sciences at Yale and curator-in-charge for vertebrate paleontology at the Peabody Museum.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 25, 2026

“It’s like an enormous bathtub sloshing around,” Mark Cane, professor emeritus of earth and climate sciences at Columbia University, told NPR on Monday.

From Salon ● Oct. 22, 2026

Too much research in the social sciences, in fact, is a mindless collection of such meaningless data.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos

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Related Words

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

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