What does science mean?
Science is the organized, evidence-based study of the natural world and the broader methods used to understand it. In the strict sense, it concerns physical and biological phenomena investigated through observation, experimentation, and logical reasoning. More broadly, the word can mean a particular field of knowledge, such as linguistics or astronomy, or the collective understanding produced by such fields. Science is commonly described as systematic, testable, and cumulative because scientific conclusions are developed through evidence, criticism, revision, and the sharing of findings. In everyday use, “science” often contrasts with opinion or speculation, especially in debates about health, climate, technology, and public policy. The term is also used in academic and formal phrases such as “natural science” and “the social sciences,” where it emphasizes organized bodies of knowledge and methods of inquiry.
nounThe systematic study of the natural or physical world through observation, experimentation, and logical reasoning. It can also refer more broadly to any organized field of knowledge or to the body of knowledge produced by scientific study.
- The systematic study of the natural or physical world through observation, experimentation, and logical reasoning.
- An organized field or branch of knowledge, such as biology, astronomy, or linguistics.
- The collective body of knowledge and understanding gained through scientific study.
"The latest findings in molecular science have transformed our understanding of the disease."
"Science provides methods for investigating natural phenomena and testing explanations."
"She chose linguistics as her science and now studies the history of language."
The plural is used especially for distinct academic disciplines or branches of knowledge, as in “the natural sciences.”
"The university offers degrees in several sciences, including chemistry and astronomy."
The word science comes from Latin scientia, meaning knowledge, so its name preserves its original ambition: to know systematically.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of science
The English word science comes through Old French from Latin scientia, a noun meaning knowledge or learning, especially knowledge acquired through investigation. Latin scientia is related to scire, “to know,” and ultimately to the Indo-European root shared by words such as conscience and conscious. In English, science developed from a general sense of knowledge into its modern, narrower association with systematic investigation of the natural world.
Related word forms
How science is actually used
The word is normally used as an uncountable noun when referring to scientific knowledge or the enterprise of science. It is commonly countable when referring to a particular discipline, especially in academic contexts, as in “the social sciences.”